Somber Return
by Lady-Solita
Summary: Six years after Chihiro left the Spirit World, it has been plagued with a dark shadow. Good spirits are infected with the darkness, warping their minds. Chirhiro knows nothing of this...that is, until her little brother is kidnapped by a certain dragon...
1. Chapter 1

Somber Return

--

I don't own Spirited Away, Hayao Miyazaki does, though I own some of the original characters. This takes place six years after the movie.

--

Chapter 1

"Is everything set?"

"Well, we're all packed and everything…"

"Are you sure we're not missing anything?"

"Wait…the car keys! Oh, I could've sworn they were in my pocket!"

Chihiro looked up from the magazine she was reading. Once again her dad couldn't keep track of anything.

"Where are they? They can't have gotten up and walked away!!"

Her eyes settled on the car keys sitting on the dining room table in front of her. Sighing in exasperation she scooped them up and headed towards the front door. She made sure not to trip over the suitcases in the hall. "Looking for these, Dad?"

Her father laughed a little. "There they are!" he took the car keys and ruffled her hair. This annoyed Chihiro, mainly because her hair had been in a nice ponytail.

"Here's all the numbers," said her mother. She tacked a sheet of paper on the wall. "The main one is the hotel we're staying at. All these are the restaurants and places we'll be going to. Try not to call here unless it's an emergency, okay?"

"I know." Chihiro smiled a little. August was a reminder that her summer vacation was nearly over and she would have to go back to school. Not that she hated school; she actually liked her 1st year of high school. But she liked relaxing. And she hadn't been able to relax for some time because…

"You're here to see us off, but where's Sei?" asked her mother.

"Probably still hiding in his room playing his Game Boy SP," said Chihiro, yawning a little. "He loves that thing; it sleeps next to him on his pillow."

"The least he could do was come say goodbye," said her mother, shaking her head in annoyance. She went over to the stairwell. "Sei!! Come down here, we're leaving now!!"

Moments later there was a thunder of small footsteps as a sullen six year old came down the stairs with messy dark brown hair, holding a Game Boy SP tightly in his hands.

"Come say goodbye to us, Sei," said their mother, holding out her arms to him.

Sei frowned at her. "Why do you and Daddy have to go? Why can't I go with you?"

"This is a vacation your father and I have planned for years. We want to spend a little time together. And besides, we all went to the beach last weekend. It's not like we don't ever take you anywhere."

Sei scoffed, kicking at the railing. "It's not fair!! I don't want to be alone with _her_!!"

Chihiro shook her head. Ever since her little brother was born, he seemed to dislike her. And when he had to do things he didn't want to do, he threw loud and annoying fusses. It annoyed her even more whenever her parents said his attitude was the same one she had when she was his age.

_Yeah right, I was never that immature,_ she thought, pulling out her messy ponytail.

"Chihiro is your older sister and you will be on your best behavior," said their mother warningly. "She'll let me know if you give her too hard of a time."

Chihiro smiled at this, but it quickly faded when her mother addressed her. "And I don't want you throwing huge parties while we're gone. And only spend the grocery money on groceries."

"I know, Mom," said Chihiro. Then she muttered, "You told me eighty times yesterday…"

"Well, let's get going," said their father. "Um, where did I put the car keys again?"

"Your pocket," said Chihiro, retrieving the magazine she had been reading.

"Ah, now I remember." He pulled out the keys. He kissed both Chihiro and Sei. "We'll see you in a week and a half."

"Have a nice trip," said Chihiro as her mother kissed her too.

Sei made a snorting noise, indicating he was close to throwing a temper tantrum.

"Bye, take care of each other!!" said their mother as they hurried out the door.

Silence filled the room with their departure. Chihiro glanced at Sei. "So, do you want ice cream?"

Sei glared at her. "No! I hate you!!" Then he ran up the stairs.

Chihiro checked her watch as she headed into the kitchen. "Hmm, my break's almost over. Better get back to my homework soon."

--

"All right, onto my last worksheets!" she said happily, closing her math book. "If only they wouldn't give us so much homework…"

Spending the day doing her homework hadn't been Chihiro's idea of starting off her break from her parents. Outside of taking care of dinner she had avoided the rest of the house as much as possible. Sei had recovered from their parents leaving, but he was still in a foul mood. Not wanting to be at the brunt of it, Chihiro gladly took on the task of finishing her summer homework.

"Okay, I need an eraser," she murmured, fishing into the pocket of her beige sundress. Her fingers did grab hold of something, but not an eraser. She pulled it out to find the hair tie that had been in her hair.

The special hair tie she had received years ago.

She sighed softly, fiddling with it. When she had entered the spirit world when she was ten years old, she never thought that her life would return back to normal. But there she was, six years later, sitting at home doing homework.

_Six years,_ she thought, staring at the hair tie. _Has it really been that long? It feels like yesterday that I was still at servant in Yubaba's hot spring. I remember seeing Mom and Dad held up in that pigpen, though they don't remember it happening. And everyone there…Kamaji, Rin, No-Face, Zeniba, Haku…_

Her fingers stilled. Though she had many friends now, Haku still stood out as her dearest friend. It was almost sad, considering they came from two different worlds. The odds of them ever seeing each other again were very slim.

_But he did promise me that we would_, she thought with a smile. She stowed the hair tie back into her pocket. _I know it probably won't be anytime soon, but I'm sure we'll meet again. He's not the type to break his promise to anyone._

Chihiro laughed a little and stretched. "Here I am, thinking about my past when I should be doing my homework." She grabbed her pencil. "All right, back to w—"

Suddenly, the house gave a violent jolt and Chihiro's room became shrouded in darkness. An odd feeling crept over her, but she pushed it down for the moment. She left her desk and went to the window, looking at the neighbor's house. Their lights were still on.

"Great," she muttered, storming to her door. "Sei, did you mess with the fuse box again?!"

Silence greeted her, along with the dark house.

"Sei?" she called, heading for the stairs. "Sei, come out! If you did something wrong I promise I won't tell Mom!!"

He didn't answer her. In fact, the only sound she could hear was her own footsteps descending the stairs.

"Sei?" she called again once she was downstairs. "Come out Sei!!"

She headed into the living room to find it empty. She nearly headed into the kitchen when something caught her eye on the floor. She quickly headed over and picked it up. It was Sei's Game Boy SP.

Chihiro swallowed a lump in her throat. Sei loved his Game Boy SP and never went anywhere without it; school, grocery shopping, even the beach.

Why was it just lying on the living room floor?

She stood up, turning her attention to the glass sliding doors that led to the backyard.

Sei was standing outside, facing away from her and looking towards the sky.

"Sei!" she called, heading for the glass door.

Everyone turned sour after that. Before she got too close to the door it suddenly exploded. Chihiro shrieked and quickly raised her hands as thousands of tiny, but very sharp glass shards flew at her. She cried out as the glass sliced her hands and her lower arms, quickly backing away. Her legs came in contact with the coffee and she lost her balance. She crashed into the table, and it crumbled under her sudden weight.

Then the glass stopped flying at her. Her limps were aching but she forced herself into a sitting position.

Sei was still standing outside, though unscathed.

"Sei," she groaned, heading back towards what had been the door. She was careful around the glass due to her bare feet, but hurried outside.

"Sei, come here," said Chihiro, reaching his side and grabbing his sleeve with a bloody hand. "Please Sei…"

But Sei did not answer her. His face and his eyes were blank, though he appeared to be staring at the sky.

"What are you staring at?" she murmured, speaking more to herself than to her little brother. She followed the direction he was looking in and froze.

A dragon floated high above. He was hissing and staring at them with cold eyes.

"Se…" it seemed to be hissing. "Se…"

Chihiro quickly looked at Sei. Was it talking to him?

She looked back up at the dragon. There was something very oddly familiar about it…

The dragon hissed loudly and descended down to them.

Chihiro acted quickly. She grabbed Sei's wrist and pulled him toward the house. "Run Sei!!!"

But Sei didn't respond or obey. He stumbled behind her, slowing them both down.

"Please Sei!!" she cried to her little brother, turning her head to him. She turned her head back around.

Her only warning was the flash of the tail before her mind exploded in pain. It all happened in slow motion after that. The force of the tail striking her hard in the stomach sent her flying across the backyard until she fell with a sickening thud on the grass.

Her vision was filled with spots, but Chihiro could the dragon standing in front of Sei. Even in his trace-like state, Sei seemed to react to it. He started speaking, but the loud ringing in Chihiro's ears prevented her from hearing him.

The dragon let out another hiss and started setting off back into the sky. As he took off, one of his talons reached out and grabbed the front of Sei's shirt.

"_No!!!!!_" shrieked Chihiro, forcing herself to her feet. She chased after the dragon, but it was already flying high and quickly into the sky. She ran until she met the fence closing off her backyard. "No no no!!!!" she tried climbing the mesh fence, but her own aches prevented her from doing so. She was helpless as she watched the dragon carry her brother off, disappearing over the forest.

Chihiro's mind was numb with the horror that had just taken place. She clenched her teeth tightly, but it didn't prevent a loud wail from escaping.

"_Sei!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!_"

Is my first chapter all right? I hope it doesn't sound cliché. Leave your comments and tell me what you think.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Chihiro's grip on the mesh fence loosened until she let go completely, allowing her feet to touch the ground again and her hands to fall to her sides.

Did that really happen? Did a dragon take her brother away?

"Chihiro-_chan_!"

Chihiro turned her head absently. Their neighbor was leaning out her window on the second floor, staring down at her.

"Is everything all right?" she asked worriedly. "I heard you scream."

Chihiro stared blankly at the woman. What she going to say? That a dragon carried off Sei?

"I—" she began, then stopped. She turned back to the fence, her eyes staring at the place where the dragon disappeared with Sei. Over the wide forest.

The forest…and that was a dragon…

_No,_ she thought, gripping the fence with a hand. _It can't be! How could a dragon from the Spirit World come here? And that dragon…it looked so much like Haku…_

But it couldn't have been Haku…could it? After all, it attacked her. The Haku she knew wouldn't attack her.

"Are you really all right?" asked her neighbor again. "Your hands are bleeding!"

This snapped her back into reality. What she doing just standing there?

"I'm all night, Mrs. Sanagi," called Chihiro, running back towards her house. "Don't worry about me!"

"But—"

Chihiro didn't wait for her to finish. She ran into her house, carefully avoiding the glass shards on the floor. She ran up the stairs up to her room, taking three steps at a time on the stairs.

_I have to go back,_ she thought as she fished through her closet._ I have to save Sei and find out what's going on…_

She found what she was looking for; a long white button up cotton sweater with pockets. It was too hot for that sort of thing, but Chihiro knew that the nights were getting colder and her simple summer dress wouldn't shield her from it. She tied the sweater around her waist and ran back to the door.

Then, as if by an instinct, she grabbed her wallet off her dress and stuffed it into one of the pockets of her sweater.

"Come on," she muttered to herself, running back down the stairs. She grabbed her sneakers from the front door and jammed her feet into them. Then she ran back to the backyard.

Before, the pains of her injuries had stopped her, but this time she was running on adrenaline. Ignoring her aches, she quickly climbed the mesh fence and jumped over the top.

She ran across the widespread of grass as fast as she could, her feet pounding the earth. She realized that it was probably wiser to save her energy, but her gut feeling was telling her to move as fast as she could. The wind was starting to pick up fiercely, blowing her loose brown hair into her face. Cursing to herself, she fished into her pocket, pulled out her hair tie and tied her hair into a quick ponytail.

Chihiro got to the passage into the forest in five minutes. Nostalgia filled her senses as she was reminded of the fateful journey her family took into these woods, though then it was by car.

"Here I go," she said softly and took off down the path as fast as she could go. She kept telling herself that it wasn't too far off, that she had reached the area in less than five minutes six years before.

But five minutes came and went and she was still far away. An annoyed feeling consumed her as she remembered that she had been in a car and her father had been speeding at the time. Meaning she had another ten minutes of walking before she got there.

Chihiro allowed herself to slow down and her pains came back to the surface. Maybe this was too reckless. A _dragon_ kidnapped her brother. She was just a sixteen-year-old human.

_I have to try,_ she ordered herself._ I managed to save my parents despite facing powerful spirits, and I was only ten at the time!_

She was still walking and trying to catch her breath just a few minutes later that her surroundings felt icy. Was she near the tunnel? She didn't feel this icy last time. Was it a good thing?

She finally reached the end of the forest path, the area illuminated by the pale moon. The same double-sided statue that had frightened her when she was ten remained in its spot.

"I'm here," she panted. Her legs and her sides were aching, but she knew she couldn't stop. She had to get Sei back right away.

Chihiro walked past the statue and entered the building. The feeling of nostalgia consumed her as she remembered trailing after her parents into this quiet building; the only sound being the howling wing and a train going by.

It wasn't quiet anymore.

She heard conversations as she drew near to the center of the building. The blinding overhead light greeted her as she reached the room. What she saw made her stop in her tracks.

What had been a dilapidated room was now clean, bright, and full of shadowy people. The soft lull of voices melded together as the people either remained seated or started heading towards the opposite door. One was even drinking from the drinking fountain, which seemed to be out of use six years ago.

_What's going on? _she wondered, staring at the people as she walked towards the opposite door. _It wasn't like this when Mom, Dad, and me came here. I only saw the spirits when I crossed over to Yubaba's bathhouse and at night. And while it is at night, I haven't crossed yet. Am I already in the spirit world?_

Chihiro didn't know what was going on and she didn't like it. She went through the opposite door and down the passage. Spirits shuffled past her, not taking the presence of a human in. She ignored this for the moment and silently prayed that the river wasn't there yet.

Her wish wasn't granted as a dock and a large ferry similar to the one she saw before greeted her. But there was something different about the atmosphere of the ferry. When she had last seen one there was a feeling of happy anticipation as the spirits reached the spirit world. But now…now the feeling was almost somber.

_Well, I can't get there by walking. I should try getting on the boat._

Chihiro followed the spirits around her as they boarded the ferry. Just as she was about to board, one of the spirits stopped her and held out a black mass to her as if signifying that she had to give him something.

"I need a ticket?" she asked absently. She didn't know that it was required for the ferry. But considering how stingy the train was about tickets…

She left the ferry, feeling angry. How was she supposed to buy a ticket? She was human for god sakes! It wasn't like she could go buy one with the spare change she had in her wallet!

She looked out towards the other side of the river, her chest feeling tight. Sei was over there somewhere, probably very afraid.

It would serve him right, but I don't want him to go through what I had to go through. He's younger than I was when I first came here and his stubborn attitude won't help his situation.

Chihiro looked down into the dark water and then back across the river. There seemed to be only one way to get there now. And though her swimming skills still weren't the best they could be, she knew they would be enough to get her over there.

She wasn't looking forward to it.

Sighing in exasperation she pulled off her sneakers and stuffed them into one of the pockets of her dress. Then she took a deep breath and dove into the water.

It was icy cold and felt slimy, but she tried to ignore these sensations as she started swimming onwards. She had the unfortunate company of several spirits who were swimming along with her, but she ignored them as well and focused on her task. A few moments later the ferry's horn sounded and it set off across the lake. It swept by her smoothly as if it were floating on the water's surface. She was afraid the current would suck her underneath the boat, but no such thing happened. The spirits on the ferry looked down at her with mild curiosity as they passed.

"This really sucks," she complained. Her already sore and tired legs and sides were ready to give and her arms weren't helping much better. Her hands and arms were still slightly bleeding from the glass attack and her entire body couldn't help but remind her that she had landed so forcefully on the coffee table that it collapsed. Her parents weren't going to be thrilled about it when they got home.

After swimming for nearly a half hour her legs finally touched solid ground and Chihiro knew she could walk the rest of the way. She stood upon her already unstable legs and forced herself to walk up the bank and up the stairs. The ferry had docked long before and was setting back out.

"Gotta find food…" she gasped, the night's events finally taking their toll on her. She was soaking wet, exhausted, and wounded. As her legs gave out and she collapsed onto the top step, she knew she could no further. Her already heavy eyelids slammed shut and she spun into dark.

-

"…Lucky to be alive…"

"…Is it really her…"

"…I wonder why she's back…"

"…She's waking up…"

Chihiro groaned softly as she came back to awareness. Her body was still sore, but she wasn't wet or cold anymore. She forced her eyes open and was greeted by a welcoming sight.

"I see that you're awake," said Kamaji. One of his many arms reached behind him and produced a teacup. "Drink this up, Sen."

Chihiro took the cup and drank the tea gratefully. "Thank you, Kamaji. How did you know it was me?"

"I didn't," said Kamaji simply. "She did."

Before Chihiro could respond she was pulled into a tight embrace, nearly dropping her teacup.

"I can't believe you came back Sen!" cried Rin, ruffling her hair. "Long time no see!"

Chihiro smiled at Rin. Though Kamaji still looked the same in appearance, Rin had obviously grown in the six years since she last saw her. She was older, but more beautiful than she had been when Chihiro first saw her. "Long time no see."

"It was really shocking," said Rin, releasing her. "I heard someone talking about a human who collapsed at the steps near the river, but I had no idea it was you! It took a lot of convincing to bring you down here."

Chihiro looked around to see the boiler room. The soot balls were jumping enthusiastically, squeaking merrily at her. "Wow. This place hasn't changed."

Suddenly, both Kamaji and Rin became silent and their faces sullen. "What's wrong?"

"This boiler room hasn't changed," said Kamaji gravely. "But the whole damned place has undergone a massive transformation."

"I'm not sure it's safe to keep you here," said Rin, looking around suspiciously. "Considering what's going on."

"What's happened?" demanded Chihiro. "Is it terrible? My little brother was kidnapped and brought here. Is all these changes linked to the kidnapping?"

"Still looking after your family, I see," said Kamaji, shaking his head. "I haven't heard anything about a human boy. Not even Minori has mentioned anything."

"Minori? So Yubaba wasn't behind the kidnapping? When I saw the…" Chihiro stopped herself. She didn't know if she should voice her fear that the dragon might've been Haku.

Rin let out a sad laugh. "That's a name I haven't heard in a while. No, Yubaba's not running the bathhouse anymore. She was run out and Minori took over."

"…Run out?"

"After you were given your freedom a lot of workers demanded that Yubaba give them the same chance to get their freedom. They all refused to work unless they did. This made Yubaba very angry, but there wasn't much she could do about it. Just to make them shut up she did give out chances. The majority failed their test, but some did manage to get out of here. And those who lost wanted more and more chances to be free from their contracts. Yubaba took a lot of her magic to suppress any mutiny, and…well, Haku wasn't her subordinate anymore so there was a decrease in support—"

"Haku left?" asked Chihiro asked, her hopes sinking. She had been hoping she could run into Haku and see him again.

"Yeah, right after you left. He said something about remembering his true name and that he wasn't following Yubaba's orders anymore. That was the last time I saw him. He just upped and left without a word after telling Yubaba left.

"Well, with all this chaos going on one day we got a new guest. That was Minori. She told us how much she sympathized with us and how we were in the right. She said she had more power than Yubaba would ever dream of having and if we joined her she would make sure Yubaba would never harass us again. It certainly sounded like a reasonable request. So we sided with her…and she took on Yubaba.

"Yubaba was the strongest person I knew, but she didn't stand a chance against Minori. Minori declared that Yubaba's shady business schemes were over and that we were going free of her. Yubaba had no choice but to take her loyal followers and flee the bathhouse."

Chihiro swallowed. The thought was almost frightening to her. Even after everything Yubaba did to her, she couldn't help but feel sorry for her.

"I didn't really care about the events either way," said Kamaji. "But I knew from the start that something wasn't right about Minori. But everyone was too blind to the promise of freedom that they followed her every wish."

"After Yubaba left, Minori's true motives were made clear," said Rin sadly. "We all expected that our contracts were now invalid and many tried to leave. And those that left…died."

"Died?" asked Chihiro. "Is that possible?"

"When Minori found the contracts she put a new stipulation on them saying anyone who tried to quit would be killed. She said, "This bathhouse is a vital resting place in the Spirit World. Are you really stupid to think I'd let it go out of business because of a couple of disgruntled employees!" It was frightening when she took control of the bathhouse. It was obvious she was using it for something, but we didn't know what. And she knew everyone that went on, and if someone didn't meet her qualifications she killed them. If someone didn't do things to her exact standards she would kill them. It felt like, and still feels like, you're too scared to not look over your shoulder."

"And the spirits have been acting up," said Kamaji. "Minori's dark influence has infected the area. Everyone is too untrusting and frightened. It's monstrous seeing spirits fighting and killing each other. Spirits even report false testimony to Minori on other spirits to get in her good graces. It's really disgusting."

"Where's Yubaba now?" asked Chihiro.

"She's probably with Zeniba, or Minori might've killed her."

"…And this Minori, do you think she was the one who took my brother?"

"She's running the show around here. I can't imagine anyone else taking him."


	3. Chapter 3

Holy cow, it's been a long time since I update! Well, school will do that to you! I'm really sorry for keeping you all in suspense!

Chapter 3

Chihiro pushed aside the cover. "Then that settles it. I'll go and have a talk with this Minori."

"What?" cried Rin. "You can't be serious!"

"I _am_ serious, Rin. If Minori took Sei, then I'll just have to get him back from her."

Rin quickly grabbed her shoulders. "Obviously you haven't heard a word I've said, Sen! Minori is _strong_! Even more powerful than Yubaba and she doesn't mess around! Yubaba transformed people she didn't like; Minori kills them! There's a vast difference there!"

"I won't her kill me," said Chihiro confidently. "She took my brother for a reason. I want to find out why."

"Sen—"

"There's no use talking her out of it," said Kamaji. "Her heart is set."

Rin let her go and scooted away. "Then…then don't expect me to help you. You haven't seen what she's capable of, I have. I'm not going to risk my neck recklessly."

Chihiro nodded as she climbed to her feet. "I understand, Rin. You've helped me enough in the past so I won't ask more from you. But I'm not going to run and hide from her. I'm not a child, but Sei is. I won't abandon him to such a monster you both claim her to be."

She looked at Kamaji. "Thank you for allowing Rin to bring me here."

Kamaji nodded. "You just watch yourself, Sen. Rin's fears aren't without merit; Minori's killed people from a distance. You just make it up to her in one piece."

"I will. It's a good thing I remember the way up to the top floor." She headed to the cubby door. "Thank you both. Please wish me luck."

"She's certainly grown up," observed Rin. Then she noticed the look Kamaji was giving her. "What? Oh all right. Wait up Sen!"

Rin hurried after Chihiro. Kamaji glanced over at the soot balls watching avidly. "And just what do you think you're doing! Different or not, we still have customers to serve! Get back to work!"

--

"Stay close to me," warned Rin as they took the service elevator up. "We'll have to hurry to the main elevator so no one sees you."

"Okay," said Chihiro. Her body was still sore from the ordeal with the dragon and the lengthy swim. But she tried her best to ignore it. Sei needed her help and she wasn't about to abandon him.

She shivered slightly as the elevator reached ascended higher. The atmosphere _did_ feel different. There was no warmth left in the bathhouse. The eerie silence now inhabited the once boisterous corridors. She didn't like it.

The elevator reached as high as it could go. Rin stuck her head out and looked around quickly. "Good, the coast is clear. Keep close to me and don't wander off, Sen."

Chihiro quickly followed Rin. The silence was unreal. She looked around, only to see the lights significantly dimmer than they had been. As they crossed the bridge high over the baths Chihiro couldn't help but peak over the rail. There were only a handful of guests using the baths and workers aided them and shuffled around wearing sullen expressions.

Chihiro felt sick when she looked at some of the guests. Something wasn't right about them; they gave off a weird vibe, almost evil. She was a little relieved to see the chick spirits who seemed to live in the bathhouse, bathing happily oblivious to the repugnant feelings around them. They brought a little life back to their surroundings.

"Hurry!" hissed Rin. "Someone's bound to see us! And they'll report it to Minori before you reach her! If she doesn't already know!"

Chihiro picked up the pace, practically running behind Rin as they reached the elevator. "Here we are. I can't go with you, I have to get back to work."

"I understand," said Chihiro. She was about to enter the elevator when Rin grabbed her and pulled her into another hug.

"You make it out of this, okay?" she hissed into Chihiro's hair. "If you let Minori kill you I won't forgive you."

Chihiro managed a smile and returned Rin's hug. "Don't worry, Rin. I believe I can get my little brother back and that's enough to keep me brave."

Rin let her go and nudged her into the elevator. "I have to get back to work now. Whatever happens, if I don't acknowledge you later it's for your own safety."

"I understand." Chihiro easily remembered how cold Haku had been to her in the presence of others. It had taken her a while to realize he'd been protecting her, and had greatly appreciated it. She waved to Rin as the elevator doors closed and looked towards the ceiling as it ascended upwards.

_I'm coming for you, Sei, _she thought to her little brother, closing her eyes. _Please be all right…_

She hated that the bathhouse had fallen into such doom and gloom. How could the spirits even hope to relax there if such evil were floating about?

Then again, she held little doubt that some of those unfamiliar guests were evil in their own right.

Finally, the elevator came to a stop and the doors open. Despite her earlier bravado she was actually quite scared. She made a loud gulp and stepped into the hallway.

The colorful, expensive splendor that had been the hallway leading up to Yubaba's room was now shrouded in darkness. The tapestries, the gold, everything…it was gone, replaced by bare dark walls.

_I have to be strong_, she ordered herself, walking up to the gigantic double doors. _Sei is probably very scared right now and I can't have him seeing me scared. And I can't have this Minori seeing me scared either…_

Gathering up her courage, she stepped up to the doors. Remembering what had happened before she touched one of the knockers and tapped a few times.

"Chihiro Ogino-_san_," said a serene voice in the darkness. A voice that immediately put Chihiro at ease. "I've been expecting you. Do come in."

The double doors swung open with so much force they smacked off the walls. Chihiro tensed, expecting to be magically pulled down the corridor. When no such compulsion she let out a sigh of relief, though inwardly she was disappointed she would have to move her already weary body more.

So she squared her shoulders and walked. The darkness of the hallways was starting to get to her, but she pushed down her fear. She retraced the way she had been magically dragged when she was ten, almost seeing it in the darkness. She didn't know how far she'd walked, but when she walked face first into a door she knew she had reached Minori's office. She stood even taller and pushed her way into the room.

She stopped dead in her tracks. When she had last stepped into Yubaba's office it was cozy and full of Yubaba's riches.

But this was no longer Yubaba's office. Chihiro could see this now. The tiny office had expanded twice its size. The walls were as black as the hallways, but these walls were covered in chilling symbols and disgusting tapestries.

"Over here, Chihiro-_san_," said that same serene voice. Chihiro turned her head to see a beautiful woman sitting on a gigantic pillow/couch set high on a throne of sort. Her hair was the glossiest black Chihiro had ever seen and it hung long around her. But her eyes…her eyes made Chihiro tremble. Her irises were pitch black and the whites of her eyes were blood red, and they stared at her without the slightest hint of emotion.

She was reclined lazily, her legs crossed over the cushion. She held what looked liked Yubaba's cigarette holder, though this one was significantly longer, wedged between two fingers. She blew out a long string of sweet-smelling smoke, smiling a beautiful smile that did not match her eyes.

"Welcome to my bathhouse," she greeted, waving a hand. "I trust your journey was uneventful?"

"Where's my brother?" demanded Chihiro, not wanting waste anymore time.

"Look with the mind, not just with the eyes," said Minori, waving her hand again. Chihiro noticed Sei for the first time sitting on a plush cushion at the bottom of the throne.

"Sei!" she ran over and hugged him. His body was limp in her arms. She turned his face to her to see that same blank stare he'd had when the dragon took him. "What did you do to him!"

"It's only just a minor spell," Minori drawled, taking another puff off her cigarette. "It should wear off in a couple of hours."

Chihiro stood up, holding Sei's hand. She faced Minori defiantly. "I'm taking him right now."

"Oh, by all means. I have no use for the boy."

Chihiro blinked several times. She hadn't expected that. Didn't Minori _intentionally _kidnap Sei?

Shaking off her shock, she hurried for the door dragging Sei with her.

"I should warn you, though," said Minori loudly. "That the minute you take him off the grounds he'll die."

Chihiro stopped dead in her tracks. She turned quickly around. "WHAT!"

Minori held up a rolled-up parchment. "Sei had kindly signed this contract with me." She unrolled it and started reading it out loud. "'I do hereby swear that I will stay by Minori's side within the walls of the bathhouse for all eternity. If I should break this contract, whether by my own choice or not, I willfully forfeit my life. Sei.' See, it's all right there." The parchment floated out of her hand and over to Chihiro. She made a grab for it, but it remained out of her reach.

But she could read it. And there it was; Sei's clumsy signature.

"You extracted this from him while he was under a spell!" she shrieked. She made another grab for the contract but it quickly zoomed back to Minori.

"Whatever the circumstances, he signed his life over to me," said Minori, tucking the contract into her belt. "So if he leaves, say, to go home he will die."

"You _bitch_!" Chihiro lunged herself at Minori. Minori just flicked her wrist and Chihiro was sent flying into the wall, her already sore body in even greater pain.

"I _am _willing to make a compromise, though," said Minori calmly, watching Chihiro pick herself off the floor. "You make a trade with me and I'll tear up this contract on the spot."

Chihiro tried to shake off the spinning in her vision, without much success. "What do you want? Me?"

"Hardly. What I'm looking for is the key."

Chihiro screwed up her face in confusion. "Key? What key? I don't have a key!"

"Of course you do. You're Chihiro, or more importantly _Sen._ Just give me the key and you can have your brother back."

Chihiro looked down at the top of Sei's head and then back at Minori. "Look…I don't have any keys. I mean, I have my house keys." She pulled them out of her pocket. "But that's it. I don't know what you want from me."

Minori blew out another string of smoke curtly and swiftly got to her feet.

"I was mistaken," she said and Chihiro couldn't suppress a shudder at the pure venom in her voice. "I thought you little brother meant more to you than a key. I mean, Yubaba sacrificed you _freedom_ when you tried to save your parents!" Her voice rose higher with each word and the thick walls started to rattle. Her glossy hair started to swirl around her as though she were underwater. "I thought I would do you a favor by making a simple exchange but apparently your priorities are elsewhere!"

Chihiro pulled Sei into her arms. She tucked his face into the nape of her neck while inching towards the door.

Then Minori seemed to calm down and her hair straightened. She shrugged her elegant shoulders. "It appears I wasted my time trying to be nice to you. I guess I'll have to kill you now."

Chihiro's heart leapt into her throat and she clutched Sei to her tightly. Her back bumped into a smooth surface and she whirled around. The door was supposed to be there! But the door was gone completely, nothing but wall. The only other exit was the wide balcony and though it was crazy she inched towards there.

"I usually don't like death," said Minori, the word 'death' rolling off her tongue. "But it will surely save me some trouble." She turned her head. "Kill Chihiro now, _Haku!_"

"Haku!" cried Chihiro, really not to believe it. But a side door appeared in thin air on the wall and swung open.

And she stared into Haku's face for the first time in six years.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

It was not the Haku she remembered when she was ten, but Chihiro recognized him on the spot. He had grown in the six years since she had last saw him just as she had, into a handsome young man. He wore robes as black as the walls surrounding them and his hair was long too, in a ponytail.

But his eyes…they were like black holes. They didn't hold any hint of emotion and they were currently trained on her as though he were looking through her.

Chihiro found her voice. "Haku…"

"Haku," said Minori, pointing a finger at Chihiro. "This girl has displeased me and I want her to die. Do so now."

"Of course, Milady," said Haku, not batting an eyelash as he advanced on Chihiro.

Chihiro backed further towards the balcony, clutching Sei tightly to her and feeling betrayed beyond words. "Haku…it's me. Chihiro. Sen. Don't you recognize me?"

Haku did not falter in his steps, raising a hand up as he approached.

"Don't you remember what happened six years ago? I came here with my parents and you help me get us out of here! You were my friend! Please try to remember!"

She continued to back up towards the balcony and Haku just followed her.

"It was you, wasn't it? You appeared at my home in the form of a dragon, attacked me, and took Sei! But that doesn't make any sense! Have you forgotten all that we went through together, everything between us! Answer me, Haku!"

Haku did not respond to her words. Chihiro felt her back become engulfed in moonlight and instinctively stopped just a foot short of the rail. Haku came to a stop right in front of her, his outstretched hand mere inches from Sei's back.

_This makes no sense,_ thought Chihiro. Something in her told her to let go of Sei and she slowly set him on his feet. _Kamaji said no one's seen Haku in the past six years. Surely they would know if he were allied with Minori. What's going on!_

Feeling her options run dry, Chihiro reached out with a free hand and tentatively touched Haku's outstretched one. "Ha—"

Everything happened in slow motion after that. She saw pure energy form in his outstretched hand while his other one smacked her hand aside. She only had a split-second to react and the only thing she could do was shove Sei aside hard as the energy hit her hard in the chest and sent her flying out of the room.

Inwardly she thought the rail would stop her body. But the force of the blast sent her flying over it and free-falling to the ground below.

Chihiro screamed at the horror of her situation, frantically grabbing at air, finding nothing to grab hold of. The ground was coming up fast; she could see it. She wailed wretchedly, hoping for a brief moment that the pain would be brief…

Then, just twelve feet from the ground her body gave a violent lurch and she found herself flying upwards. She twisted around frantically, trying to understand what was going on.

"Could you _please_ stop struggling!" snapped a gruff, familiar voice above her. "I'm having a difficult enough time holding onto you without your thrashing."

Chihiro twisted her head up, seeing the body of a giant bird; talons embedded deep in the back her sweater, but had the head of… "Granny!"

"It's _Yubaba_," she hissed back, flapping her wings furiously. "Now stop moving, this will no doubt be a very difficult ride."

"Huh?" Chihiro turned her head back to the bathhouse. They were quite a ways away, but she saw Minori at the balcony.

"Get them now, Haku!" she shrieked. "Kill them before they escape!"

Haku in his dragon form shot out of Minori's room into the night in hot pursuit of Chihiro and Yubaba.

"Oh great," said Yubaba above her. "It just _knew _you would always bring me trouble, Sen! Now hang on, because I'm going to fly as fast as I can!"

Yubaba started beating her wings faster, trying to get away from Haku as far as she could. Chihiro kept daring glances behind her, only to see Haku getting closer and closer to them.

On top of everything else, she could feel her sweater was starting to tear under the hold of Yubaba's talons, but there was nothing she could do, nothing she could reach for, to keep in flight. She could only pray that her sweater held out long enough for Yubaba to get her wherever it is they were trying to get to.

Chihiro heard Yubaba curse above her and she quickly knew why. She flew wide to the right as Haku zipped past them, Chihiro nearly getting hitting by his thrashing tail. Tears filled her eyes at the realization of what was going on. She _never_ thought she'd see the day where _Yubaba _would be the one to come to her aid while Haku was the one trying to hurt her.

Well, _kill _her in this particular case.

But the sudden movement in order to avoid Haku's attack, while it worked effectively, also worked to make her sweater tear even more. She gave an inward wince; this was one of her favorite sweaters being torn apart!

Then again if it ripped completely she'd probably fall to her death again.

She felt something else tug on the back of her sweater and she suddenly felt light again. She looked over her shoulder to see Yubaba's crow, her constant companion and someone Chihiro became fond of up to her last days in the spirit world. Though six years had done little to it, its strength in holding her up seemed to match that of Yubaba's.

But even with the combined efforts of Yubaba and her bird holding Chihiro up, they were barely able to dodge Haku's attacks and completely incapable of outrunning him. Two bird…things flying with a teenage girl in their talons weren't really equipped to take on a dragon.

"It's no good!" yelled Yubaba after a while, stating the obvious. "You're weighing me down, I can't fly fast enough!"

"Are you going to let me go?" asked Chihiro fearfully, glancing in Haku's direction.

Yubaba glared down at her briefly. "And have all my efforts in getting you away up to now go to waste? Hardly! No, but I can't keep up like this! This is exactly why I wanted to possess Haku's power; he's more powerful than me!"

Chihiro didn't want to think about that. "So what are you doing to do?"

Yubaba looked around. "Hmm…there! I'm going to have to dive!"

Chihiro followed Yubaba's eyes and saw to her horror the grove of trees identifying the swamps. "You're gonna dive in _there_! That'll kill us!"

"We're dead anyways if we remain in the air! It's our only chance!"

Chihiro sighed sadly, seeing Yubaba's point and not liking it. She'd already been beaten up by Haku twice, slammed into a wall by Minori, and worked into exhaustion just getting into the spirit world. She didn't know how much more she could take.

But she also knew Yubaba was right.

"All right, do what you have to do!" she yelled. "But if this kills me I'll be angry!"

"It won't kill you! You'll just get a few bumps and scraps! I swear, you're still the whiny little girl I took in years ago!"

"I have good reason to be whiny! Minori has my little brother and I almost got killed back there! And what's this about you taking me in! You turned my parents into pigs and took away my name!"

"If you don't shut up I'll turn you into a pig right now!" Yubaba glanced to her side. "Here comes Haku! You'd better be ready!"

The crow let go of Chihiro and Yubaba made another wide swing in order to avoid Haku. But before the dragon could recover himself she dove hard and fast for the trees. Chihiro screamed, but the force of the wind paralyzed her from trying to move. She barely brought her arms up to shield herself when the hits the trees hard. She felt a brief bite of pain before everything went black.

--

"Get up."

Chihiro's eyes snapped open. Her body was sore once again, but she had no trouble keeping her eyes open. She was lying on her back in the dirt, staring up at the trees.

Or, more importantly, Yubaba towering over her.

She quickly sat up and immediately regretted it. "Did we lose him?" she raised a head to touch her aching head, feeling her ponytail extremely loose and twigs and leaves woven into her hair.

"Obviously," scoffed Yubaba, brushing off her skirt. Chihiro was not surprised to see that she looked the same as she had years ago. "But we're wasting our sitting here. Let's get going." She started down the path they were own without helping Chihiro up.

Chihiro forced herself to her feet and followed Yubaba down the path on unstable legs. "Where are we going?"

"Where else? To see my sister."


	5. Chapter 5

Wow, this fanfic is getting a lot of attention, though it took me a year to put up chapter 3! ;;;; Well, I'll try not to do that again! Here's chapter 5!

Chapter 5

Chihiro followed Yubaba as best as she could on wobbly legs down the path through the woods. Despite Yubaba's words otherwise, she kept glancing towards the sky fearing that Haku was somehow waiting for them to come out into the open.

That thought made her feel awful. Haku was supposed to be her closest friend, yet he attacked her as though she were his mortal enemy.

_Something happened to him in these six years,_ she thought, pausing to glance at the sky again. _That wasn't the Haku I knew…_

"Can't you keep up!" snapped Yubaba over her shoulder. "The more we dawdle here the more likely he'll catch us if he comes back!"

"I haven't exactly had a very good night," said Chihiro, though she forced herself to pick up the pace. Yubaba's bird fluttered next to her head and crooned sympathetically. "How are we supposed to know he won't come back?"

"I'm not exactly an expert on that ingrate, but when we were forced to make that emergency landing he kind of just swooped back up into the sky and flew off. We're lucky he didn't dive into the trees after us."

Hope flared in Chihiro's heart. _He didn't continue the attack. Maybe there's hope after all…_

They continued on their way to Zeniba's house, and the sooner they got there the better. She was sore, exhausted and in no shape to go back and confront Minori again as she was.

It wasn't too long where they reached a clearing and Yubaba stopped. The trees surrounded them, but seeing the swamp water reminded Chihiro that the area was called 'Swamp Bottom' for a reason.

But she was confused. The area looked familiar, but at the same time something seemed out of place. It was like something was missing…

Yubaba cupped her palms and started chanting rapidly and quietly. Chihiro wanted to ask what she was doing, but at the same time she could see that Yubaba was conjuring a spell. Sure enough a ball of white light formed in her palms. She blew on it lightly and it rose into the air. On its own it traveled over the swamp and hovered over a part of the swamp in the back. Chihiro couldn't help but glance around warily; the ball of light illuminated the whole area and would surely bring some attention.

And it did. Suddenly the ball of light vanished and the ground started to tremble soundlessly. Chihiro cried out as she lost her balance and fell flat on her butt. Yubaba just stood there as though the semi-earthquake weren't happening.

Then, from the swamp a house seemed to be building itself emerged. As the front posts and the fence started coming up and the walls, Chihiro felt a tug on her heart.

"Thaaaaaaaat's Zennnnnnniba's houssssse!" she cried, her words stretched from the force of the shaking.

"Of course it's Zeniba's house!" scoffed Yubaba, unaffected by the effects of her own spell. "Who else would live out in this disgusting place! I only live out here with her because after those fools forced me out of my own housing I had no place left to go!" she snorted, folding her arms over her chest. "Good riddance to them, I say. They only have themselves to blame for never seeing the danger…"

Yubaba's words made Chihiro angry. It was easy for _her_ to say good riddance, but Sei, who never had _any_ involvement in the workings of the spirit world, was now being held hostage there.

The house finished building itself and the ground stopped shaking. Yubaba walked briskly up to the house, not waiting for Chihiro to get to her feet. Chihiro did so quickly, practically running after her. There was a lantern hanging from the posts. Chihiro didn't give it much notice until a hand popped out and reached for her. She screamed and nearly fell again.

"Quiet!" snapped Yubaba, who had reached the front door. "Or we'll draw attention to ourselves!"

Chihiro was sure that a house popping up in the middle of a swamp would draw more attention, but she was too tired to argue. She tentatively took hold of the hand, which shook hers vigorously, and ran up to the front door.

Yubaba tapped on the door three times with the tip of her fingernail. It swung open on its own and Yubaba practically shoved Chihiro inside. Zeniba was sitting at the table sipping some tea. She looked up at them and smiled. "Well now, here's a sight for sore eyes. How wonderful to see you again, Chihiro."

"Granny!" cried Chihiro, her eyes filling. She launched herself at Zeniba, wrapping the older woman in a tight hug. "It's so good to see you!"

"Ah!" said Yubaba, slamming the door shut and jabbing a finger at Zeniba accusingly. "_That's _where she gets 'Granny' from!"

"Unlike you, I'm not insecure about my age," said Zeniba, returning Chihiro's hug before letting her go. "Let me take a good look a—by the Gods, girl! You look terrible!"

"I've had a really rough day," said Chihiro grimly, trying and failing to brush the smudges of dirt out of her dress.

Zeniba smoothed a hand over her cheek comfortingly. "You poor girl. We'd sensed a disturbance of sort a few hours ago and I just _knew_ you had returned to us. Yubaba was kind enough to go check things out."

"Kind enough!" barked Yubaba, sitting herself at the table and helping herself to some tea. "You _made_ me go!"

"Perhaps that was a mistake. Look at her, Yubaba! She's filthy and covered in cuts and bruises!"

"I didn't do that. I happened to save her life when she was knocked off my—well, Minori's balcony. Then I risked my neck trying to out fly Haku and I had to make an emergency landing."

Zeniba pulled a twig out of Chihiro's hair. "In the trees?"

"Would you have preferred the swamp? I certainly wouldn't! Besides, I was able to get as close to this house as I could without alerting Haku to its whereabouts."

"Never mind." Zeniba turned back to Chihiro. "You've obviously had a very toiling day. Let me draw up some bathwater so you can relax."

"I can't relax for very long," said Chihiro, though she didn't protest when Zeniba ushered her into another room, though smaller than the main room. "I have to go back—"

"And you will, but right now you're in no shape to confront such a powerful and evil person like Minori. Right now you need to take care of _you_." Zeniba started waving her hands, pointing her fingers. A large basin popped out of the closet and a kettle started filling it with an endless stream of intoxicating water. A pile of towels folded themselves on a stool and a pair of pajamas that looked about Chihiro's size seated themselves on a chair, with a robe hanging itself on the back of it. "There, that should do it for now. Give me the clothes on your back and I'll get them washed in a flash."

"Thank you, Granny," said Chihiro, hugging her again.

"You're welcome. Now take it easy; if you continue to stress yourself out you'll make yourself more exhausted." Zeniba headed for the door. "If you need anything just call for me."

"I will. Thanks again."

Left alone in the room Chihiro pulled off her sweater and took a look at the back. There were slashes all over it.

_I'll ask Zeniba to fix it for me, _she decided, folding the sweater and reaching for the hem of her dress. As she bent over she noticed something…well, two things lying on the floor. She picked up the two things and held them in her palm. They were silver in color and felt cold and rough. Vaguely, she realized they were Haku's scales.

_I don't remember him getting so close to me to leave his scales on me. Maybe I didn't realize how narrowly we escape. And he attacked me in my world, didn't he? Yeah, he hit me in the stomach with his tail!_

Shaking her head she pulled her dress over her head and plopped it on her sweater. She pulled off her socks and both barely joined the pile when they all rose up into the air and sailed for the door. The door creaked open ever so slightly and the quickly sailed out and the door slammed shut. Chihiro couldn't help but laugh at the sight; inwardly relieved Zeniba didn't take her underpants.

She got a good look at herself and saw why Zeniba had been so angry. Her arms and legs were covered in scratches, some benign, others leaking blood. Two nice purple and red bruises were on her stomach just above her navel and on her sternum; no doubt where Haku's tail hit her and his 'ki' blast.

_Sei had better be very grateful to me for all I'm going through, _she fumed quietly, getting undressed completely and pulling her hair tie from her hair and easing into the tub. Almost immediately all her aches and pains ceased. She raised an arm from beneath the water to see smooth skin, all the cuts and bruises gone. She submerged her head completely and her headaches eased as though it never existed. As she broke the surface of the water she checked her chest and stomach for her serious bruises and they were gone as well.

_I have to get me some of this water_. Even though she didn't have much time she allowed herself the moment to relax.

Sometime later she emerged from the tub and got dressed in the pajamas. She was wrapping her hair in a towel when she heard yelling in the other room. She grabbed her hair tie and Haku's scales and opened the door. She did a double take when she saw both Zeniba and Yubaba arguing, though the room was a little fuller. Yubaba's baby Boh (who still looked like a baby) spotted her and crawled over. The Kashira spotted her as well and rolled over with their usual grunts, though Chihiro wasn't exactly wiled about seeing them.

"I've missed you, Sen!" said Boh when he reached her. He literally picked her up off her feet as he enveloped her in a hug. "Have you seen the bathhouse?"

"I've missed you too, Boh. And yes, I've seen the bathhouse. It's not the way it was before."

"I know. When Mama told me we had to leave it was scary. But then we came her and I wasn't scared anymore."

"That's good, Boh." Chihiro was a little relieved when he put her down and she managed a weak wave at the Kashira when she approached the sisters. "Um…how am I suppose to tell you two apart?"

One of them scoffed and struck a pose. "You can tell it's ME because I'm the prettier one!"

"No, you're not!"

Chihiro glanced at Boh. "Do they fight a lot?"

"Every day," said Boh like nothing was out of the ordinary. "Let me handle this. Mama!"

"Yes, Boh?" asked Yubaba, having been the one to make the comment about being prettier.

"There you go, Sen."

"You look so much better now!" said Zeniba, clapping her hands in relief.

"Oh, stop pandering to her! It's all her fault this whole thing happened!"

"My fault?" cried Chihiro. "You mean that whole thing with Minori?"

"Of course! It's because you were so demanding that my workers got the idea to fight their contracts!"

"Well, if you hadn't put in such a ridiculous stipulation to ensure their work them maybe they wouldn't have revolted!" snapped Zeniba.

"She." Yubaba pointed to Chihiro. "Made Haku remember his name! If he were still under my command he would not have met up with Minori and joined sides with her!"

"Well, if YOU hadn't forced Haku to become your puppet she wouldn't have that essence she has with her now!"

Something clicked in Chihiro. "Wait wait WAIT! How did you know Haku was with Minori? And what do you mean, essence?"

Zeniba glanced at her. "We have our ways, Chihiro. And that 'Haku' that stands at Minori's side isn't a whole Haku, just a part of him."

"Didn't I tell you that?" added Yubaba.

Chihiro rounded on her. "No you didn't! All you told me was that you wanted Haku's power for yourself, you NEVER mentioned that was just a part of him!"

Yubaba shrugged her shoulders. "Huh. Well, it's not all that important."

"Of course it's important! If whatever that was is just a fragment of Haku, then that means the rest of him must be around here somewhere!"

Zeniba went over to the table and seated herself. "All right, we're all missing out on some details. I think our best bet is to spill everything we know and then we'll be able to figure out what we'll be doing."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Chihiro took a seat at the table, her heart hammering against the wall of her chest. _There's two Haku's? That makes no sense…almost. Well, it would explain why Haku attacked me on Minori's orders…_

"How about you start, Chihiro?" asked Zeniba. "So then we can fill in any missing details that might be present."

"Then we'll be doing most of the talking," muttered Yubaba.

Chihiro fiddled with Haku's scales between her fingers, not really sure how to start the story. "It's like this…"

A cup of tea was placed in front of her. She looked up to see the No-Face expressionless as always but bowing his head to her. "Thank you."

He gave a little grunt of joy and took a seat at the table.

Chihiro took a sip of the tea and suddenly felt a little more confident. Then she started talking. She told them everything that happened to her in the past few hours and left nothing out. It took a while because both Yubaba and Zeniba wanted to know all the details.

"That's impossible!" cried Yubaba when Chihiro revealed that Haku came into her world. "Haku is a river spirit! A sealed up river spirit at that! He can't appear in the human world in the form of a dragon! He's a river first, dragon second!"

"It think this proves how powerful both he is and Minori," said Zeniba, sipping her tea. "Yubaba is telling the truth; if Haku were to reappear in your world, Chihiro, then it would be primarily in the form of a river. But the fact that his river no longer exists should show that he can't appear at all."

"But he still did!" cried Chihiro. "He appeared in my world in the form of a dragon, attacked me, and took Sei!"

"I know, hon. And that proves my point of how powerful he really is. Generally humans cannot see gods and spirits in their true forms because they represent all beings of life. It disrupts a certain balance when a human can see their true form."

"…Is that why everyone panicked when my family came here the first time? Because our presence was disrupting the balance?"

"That, and your parents were eating food made for the gods and spirits," said Yubaba.

Chihiro stared down at the scales. "Then…my presence here now will create an even greater unbalance?"

"No," answered Yubaba. "There is already enough of a unbalance here that your presence won't throw everything into chaos. Besides, both times you've come here you've been…fixed. You've eaten the food here to integrate yourself and your parents were turned into pigs. I imagine your little brother was given something to eat as well."

Chihiro nodded slowly. "So…either Haku is strong enough to pass over into my world without having a body there or Minori put a charm on him to maintain his dragon form?"

"Exactly."

"…At least that part makes sense."

"What do you have there?" asked Zeniba, looking at the scales.

Chihiro held them up. "Haku's scales. When he attacked me he left some embedded in my clothes. They came off when I got undress for the bath, though it's amazing they managed to stay on for so long considering all the bumps I took today…"

Zeniba took them from her and looked at them closely. She turned to Yubaba. "Did you get any of the scales in your clothes?"

Yubaba shrugged. "I shook out my dress after we landed. If I did they're out in the woods now."

Zeniba scoffed at her and went over to her cabinets. She opened a top one and produced a small jar. "Perhaps these will be very helpful to us." She dropped them into the jar and closed it. She handed it to Chihiro. "Keep an eye on this."

"I will." Chihiro sat it in her lap. "Should I keep going?"

"Yes. Then we'll tell you what we know."

There wasn't much more to say to the sisters, though both perked up quickly when Chihiro mentioned her passage to the Spirit World.

"You were already there?" sputtered Zeniba. "Without even passing through the gates?"

Chihiro nodded. "I went through the tunnel and was right there."

Both Zeniba and Yubaba exchanged a look for a long minute, making Chihiro uncomfortable. She decided to continue with her story, describing the state of the bathhouses in great detail and what Minori's room looked like.

Yubaba scoffed in disgust. "From what it sounds like, she knocked out the walls separating my office, my bedroom, and Boh's room. I swear that harpy's trashed _my_ bathhouse! Who knows how much it will cost me to re-renovate it once I get it back?"

Chihiro tried not to roll her eyes at the fact that Yubaba was more concerned for her bathhouse than her former employees. "Then she revealed why she kidnapped Sei; she wants the key."

"What key?" asked Zeniba.

Chihiro shrugged. "I have no idea. She seems convinced I have it, whatever it is. And…I think she sent Haku to kidnap _me_. But since most people here know me by Sen and my brother's name is Sei…I think he got confused. She must have told him to get a child named Sen. Well, I'm not a child and I don't go by Sen in my world."

"What makes you think it was for you?"

"She said she'd been angry when Haku brought Sei to her, which meant she wasn't expecting him. But then she reworked whatever plan she originally had and put him under contract. He can't leave the grounds of the bathhouse for any reason or he dies."

"And they called ME a tyrant!" fumed Yubaba, slamming her cup of tea down forcefully.

"I'll ask that you not break anymore of my dishes!" snapped Zeniba, shaking her head.

"Then she had Haku come out, he knocked me off the balcony and Yubaba carried me here," finished Chihiro.

"I guess it's our turn," sighed Yubaba. "After you left my luck went down the drain. The disgusting displays my workers made in the presence of No-Face." she glared at him. "Not to mention all the damage he'd caused made me lose a few customers. All the repairs had to come out of my own pocket. On top of everything else Haku said he was leaving. He recited his stupid name to me and left. Then I had my damn employees come up to me demanding that I relieve them of their contracts. And because I'm such a nice person I gave them all chances to get out of their contracts, like I did you. But…most of them are rather stupid and as a result only a handful past the tests. And then the ingrates had the nerve to be mad at me! Can you imagine? They're lucky I allowed them the chance instead of turning them into soot!

"Then one day…I sensed evil within my bathhouse. And I knew where it was coming from. My bathhouse is open to all spirits alike, but certainly not to…demons! The gods know how many times I asked that someone make her leave, but no one was complying! I figured out only too late that they all had turned on me when I went to Minori personally and told her to leave. The whole lot of them came to her aid and I realized having everyone turn on me and side with such a demon was dangerous. So…I left."

"And she came to live with me," said Zeniba dryly.

"I had nowhere else to go!"

"So what you've told me," said Chihiro, trying to avoid another shouting fest. "Is that all you know is Minori is evil and might be a demon?"

"Correct."

"Well…do either of you know what she might mean by this 'key'?"

"I haven't a clue," said Zeniba. "Did she describe what kind of a key she was looking for?"

"No, just that I, Chihiro and Sen, have it."

Yubaba threw up her hands. "That's perfect. You have something enchanted that she wants, yet no one knows what it is!"

"If she wants this 'key' so badly, then we must make sure she doesn't get it," said Zeniba firmly.

Chihiro nodded and stood. "I can't waste anymore time. I have to get back and get Sei. Where's my clothes?"

"They're drying," said Zeniba. "And we can't just rush in there as we are now. Minori has both Sei and a fragment of Haku in her grasp. In order to save both we'll have to get Haku's other half and destroy Sei's contract."

"Easier said than done," said Yubaba sarcastically. "It'll be easy to tear up the boy's contract. But Haku? I don't know where he went off to. For all I know he's dead."

"He's not dead, sister. This fragment would not exist if the rest of him were dead."

Chihiro looked down at the scales inside the jar in her lap. "Then the first thing we have to do is find Haku?"

"'We'?" sputtered Yubaba. "I really hope you don't intend to involve _me_ in your problems!"

"Do you want your damned bathhouse back or not!" snapped Zeniba.

Yubaba folded her arms over her chest grudgingly, but said nothing.

"We can't take it back when we have Minori and a fragment of Haku to face. But if we have the rest of Haku then we can get the other part of him back to form a whole and Minori will be short an ally!"

"But Minori's very powerful, Granny," said Chihiro. "What if—"

"I wouldn't worry," said Yubaba. "For all her power she's the type who prefers to have others do her dirty work. She had Haku go after you all those times and had my coworkers overthrow me because she likes feeding on that kind of betrayal. She will have a lot of power, but you will have a water dragon spirit and two powerful—"

"Two?" laughed Zeniba. "So you've changed your tune?"

Yubaba glared at Zeniba. "It's _my_ bathhouse and I'll take it back!"

"But before that we need to find Haku."

"Easier said than done. How the hell are we suppose to pull THAT off? I don't even know where he is!"

"Simple." Zeniba looked at Chihiro. "Those scales came from Haku, right?"

"Yeah," said Chihiro.

"That settles it. When someone loses something it's never really gone. If you believe with all your heart that you will find it, you surely will. Those scales are an extension of Haku's body. They will light the way to him."

"And I shook them out of my dress in the woods," grumbled Yubaba in dismay.

"These scales will lead us to those along with Haku." Zeniba reached over and took hold of Chihiro's hand. "This will not be an easy journey, Chihiro. This isn't like how it was when you were a child; we'll be searching for no doubt a long for Haku. Are you prepared?"

Chihiro nodded. "I'm still on my summer vacation and my parents are away. No one will notice Sei and I are gone."

"Good. Then let's get ready. This fight will not be an easy one."


	7. Chapter 7

Sorry for the minor delay! Been working nonstop all week! I wouldn't want anyone to think I'm going on another yearlong hiatus! ;)

Chapter 7

"There's plenty of food in the cupboards," said Zeniba. "We won't be back for a while. But while we're gone No-Face is in charge."

No-Face grunted a little, but nodded his head.

Yubaba was currently hugging little Boh tightly. "Mama will be gone for a long while, but I promise I'll be back."

"Okay," said Boh, returning her hug just as tightly. "But be careful, okay? You too, Sen and Granny."

"I will," said Chihiro, tying back her hair. She shrugged on her sweater, thankful that Zeniba mended it for her before she asked. She glanced at Yubaba and Zeniba. "Is it just us three going out to look for Haku?"

"Yes," said Zeniba, filling a sack with pieces of bread. "You, me, and Yubaba are going to draw enough attention to ourselves. If Minori decides to send her minions to attack us, we don't need multiple people to cover."

"We'll need someone to talk to Haku, whatever state he'll be in," said Yubaba grimly.

"Is that where I come in?" asked Chihiro.

"I sure as hell am not going to try."

Zeniba peeked out the window from behind the curtains. "Let's see…okay, the coast is clear. Let's get going."

"Bye everyone!" said Chihiro, saying her round of goodbyes. She felt terrible that she was coming and going so quickly without really spending time with her friends. She resolved to spend even just a little while with them once everything was set back to normal.

They left Zeniba's cottage and Chihiro noticed the sun was rising. She was shock it was just morning; everything she had went through only leading up to her return to the Spirit World lasted through the night rather than the longer period of time it felt like. It made her feel a little more optimistic about her situation.

_I can only hope Mom and Dad don't call the cops when we don't answer any of their calls, _she thought as she followed Yubaba and Zeniba on the dirt road leading away from the house. She waved at the light hanging from the post above her and it waved back. As all three past the post the ground started rumbling again. And just how it arisen last night the cottage disappeared into the ground as though it never existed.

"First things first; finding those scales _you _dropped in the woods," said Zeniba pointedly to Yubaba. "I'm sure the more we have the more they'll react to Haku's presence."

"It won't take too long," scoffed Yubaba. "We just have to go to where we landed. I'm sure the crater in the trees will be a sure sign. Let's just hope the Haku fragment isn't there waiting for us."

They followed Yubaba down the path towards the woods. Chihiro looked up towards the sky.

_Haku, we're coming. We'll be able to help you and get you whole again. Then we can help Sei and set everything right in this world…_

She looked towards the sisters and suddenly let out a groan. Zeniba glanced at her. "What's wrong, Chihiro?"

"You two did it again!"

"Did what?" demanded Yubaba.

"You're wearing the exact same thing! How am I suppose to tell you two apart?"

Indeed, both sisters were wearing their matching blue dresses.

"I told you I'm the prettier one!" snapped Yubaba.

Zeniba sighed heavily. "Just remember I'm the one with the food. How much farther is it, Yubaba?"

"And you say _I'm _annoying. We've been barely walking for five minutes, Zeniba!"

Chihiro shook her head. "I can see why neither of you usually live together…"

"Of course we don't!" snapped Yubaba. "I have a taste for the finer things in life, while _Zeniba's _an old country bumpkin!"

"Go ahead and call me old," drawled Zeniba. "You seem to forget we're identical twins. If I'm old, _you're _old too!"

"…I'm not that old."

Finally they found the area where they made their crash landing. Chihiro pulled the small jar out of her pocket to see the scales were glowing a little. "Hey, look at this!"

"The other ones are very close," observed Zeniba. She elbowed Yubaba slightly. "Well, go look for 'em!"

"What? Why do I have to?"

"They're missing because you lost them!"

"It wasn't like I intended to lose them! I just shook out my dress!"

"Nevertheless, it's still your fault!"

Chihiro sighed heavily, deciding to look herself. _As much as I appreciate their help, I really hope these two don't argue for the whole journey… _

Finding the scales wasn't difficult. As she smoothed aside fallen branches and leaves they caught the morning sun's light. Chihiro happily gathered them all. There was five there, seven scales in total. _Lucky seven! _

She set the five scales in the jar and turned back to the arguing sisters, who had yet to notice her find. "Shall we go?"

Yubaba glared at her. "We can't go until—"

"It's fine," interrupted Chihiro, holding up the jar. "Now let's not waste anymore time."

Zeniba waved a hand. "I agree. With those many scales now they'll surely react to Haku's body."

"Hopefully his whole body and not that toady," grumbled Yubaba. Both sisters left the shelter of the forest and entered the clearing.

"Wait!" cried Chihiro, hesitantly running after them. "Where are you going?"

"I hope you don't expect us to make this journey on foot!" said Yubaba as they pulled out dark cloaks. "No, we'll cover more ground in the air."

"We'll also draw a lot of attention to ourselves," said Zeniba. "But we have no choice."

"And how will I be traveling? I can't fly without assistance."

"We'll be alternating carrying you. That way if Minori sends one of her minions to attack then one of us we'll be free to fight."

"Oh, okay." Chihiro glanced at the sky again. It felt awful that she was afraid of seeing Haku come after them, even if it was just a fragment.

_Sei, Haku, we're coming! _

The two sisters transformed into birds. They beat their giant wingspans, making huge gusts of winds before they took off. One of the sisters (Chihiro still couldn't tell them apart even as birds) made a full turn back to her. She only had time to brace herself for an instant before talons latched onto her shoulders and she was sailing off.

"By the gods you're heavy!" grunted the bird Chihiro could now tell was Yubaba. "Why couldn't you have stayed a ten-year-old brat?"

"Because I'm not immortal?" growled Chihiro, shaking her head. "Besides, you carried me last night!"

"Yeah, by your flimsy sweater not by your limbs!"

"Stop complaining!" shouted Zeniba who was flying ahead of them. "And keep an eye on those scales, Chihiro! We'll know if Haku's nearby once they start reacting!"

Chihiro complied, not in much of a mood to take part in an argument.

They flew for hours without break, only briefly stopping every so often to swap Chihiro and eat a little. The morning sun rose higher and higher in the clear sky. Chihiro focused all her energy on the scales, not wanting to think of how hot she was wearing the sweater. She only remained quiet about how sticky she felt under the afternoon sun for a lot of reasons; so they wouldn't have to make an unnecessary stop, so she wouldn't sunburn, and so their talons wouldn't be holding her bare skin.

Finally, the afternoon sun started waning as nightfall approached. They had flown for miles and miles. Chihiro couldn't recognize her surroundings at all. She felt a sinking feeling in her stomach at the thought of how far away she was from both the gateway and her brother.

_I'm thankful both Yubaba and Zeniba are here, _she thought. _This isn't my natural realm. If I got lost here I don't know what I'd do. Although… _

"I told you we should've left the brat behind!" yelled Yubaba. It was her turn to hold Chihiro. "She's only slowing us down!"

"Don't talk about Chihiro like that!" yelled Zeniba. "And we've both done harm to Haku! Whatever state he's in right now I don't think he'd take too kindly to us!"

Suddenly, the scales started glowing. Chihiro felt a burst of excitement. "Granny! We found him!"

Yubaba looked down at her. "Eh? They're reacting?"

"Then he's close by!" called Zeniba, circling around. A small town was situated just below them. "He must be hiding there! We'll find him quickly now!"

"But Granny, you told me this would be a long journey!" cried Chihiro. "We've barely been gone a day!"

"Finding Haku is not the end of our journey," said Zeniba. "We don't know what kind of state he's in at the moment. And if he doesn't have clarity we'll have to somehow fix him. Then we'll need to figure out how to get him whole again."

"And then we'll need to stop Minori and get me control of my bathhouse," added Yubaba quickly. Both sisters swept down for a smooth landing. Well, as smooth as Chihiro scraping her shins.

"What did I tell you about being careful!" fumed Zeniba, waving her fists. "Be a little more considerate of others!"

Yubaba scoffed, brushing off her skirt. "Would you prefer I just drop her before landing?"

"You—"

"I'm fine," said Chihiro, though her shins were smarting at the moment. "Let's just get into town and ask around about Haku."

Zeniba shoved a huge slab of bread at her. "Eat this, it'll help ebb the pain away." She shot a glare at her sister.

They made it into the tiny town and Chihiro marveled at how simple the town was. Everyone knew everyone and every labor was very easygoing. It seemed like a happy settling.

_It's also humanlike, _thought Chihiro as she saw a group of spirits crowded around stands in the market. _Maybe this is kind of place for those who want a semblance of familiarity from there old lives. _

They asked the spirits a variety of questions. They gave descriptions of Haku, both dragon and human forms, and Minori. They asked if either stopped by or lived there. They asked if they'd seen either of them.

And each question they got back a no.

Chihiro looked down at the scales. They were reacting strongly. "Maybe they're hiding something, because he's definitely here."

"Perhaps we're simply not asking the right questions," surmised Zeniba, stretching out her arms.

"Then we'll be wasting even more time trying to figure out the right ones," grumbled Yubaba. She stood up abruptly and grabbed hold of a passing spirit's arm. "Excuse me, sir, but I was wondering if there's been anything to upset your routine lately?"

Chihiro watched them converse, feeling her hope rise. Usually the spirits they asked brushed them off, but Yubaba was engrossed in a conversation with this particular one.

"Hmm," said Zeniba. "Perhaps the right question wasn't about strangers but rather about themselves?"

The spirit departed and Yubaba quickly turned to them. "Come on, let's get going!"

"He told you where Haku is?" cried Chihiro excitedly.

"Of course. He said a long time ago a young man was passing through and he settled here for a few days. Then a woman came through and they both conversed for a while until one day both disappeared into the mountains. Then suddenly they reappeared again and the young man was acting very strangely."

"That sounds about right!" cheered Zeniba.

"What mountains did he mention?" demanded Chihiro.

Yubaba pointed to a mountain range in the distance. "That one."


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Chihiro knew that climbing a mountain wasn't going to be easy. Those hiking trips her parents forced on Sei and her wouldn't exactly help her now. So she was more than happy to have Yubaba and Zeniba fly her up to it. Though to save time they were both carrying her at once.

"This had better be Haku and not some hermit," fumed Yubaba. "If they are, they'll be one sorry hermit."

"Oh, be quiet," snapped Zeniba. "Chihiro, the scales are still reacting, right?"

"Yeah," said Chihiro, staring at the small bottle glowing in her hands. "He must in that mountain, like that man says."

"Well then it's a good thing we came prepared," said Yubaba.

"Huh?" But Chihiro got her answer just moments later. The closer they drew to the mountain the colder the air got. Suddenly they were hit by an icy gust of wind and snow flew into her face. "Augh! Set me down, let me put on my sweater!"

"You'll have plenty of time to put it on when we land," said Yubaba. "We're going to try to find an opening and land there."

Chihiro bit her bottom lip and rubbed her arms, but her teeth still chattered against the unexpected cold. First she was hot and sticky and now she was freezing…not a good combination.

Yubaba and Zeniba circled around the mountain range for a few minutes, trying to find a cave. But for Chihiro it seemed to last an eternity; she could feel her fingers and toes start to go numb.

"Hey!" yelled Zeniba. "I see something!"

"Thank God!" yelled Chihiro. "Please set us down!"

"This isn't exactly pleasant for us either," said Yubaba, but they still swooped down in the direction Zeniba directed them to. And despite the elements they managed a safe landing.

Chihiro immediately threw on her sweater, but she found that a summer sweater was almost no improvement. Yubaba and Zeniba transformed back, though they still wore their cloaks wrapped tightly around themselves.

"Here," said Zeniba, reaching into an inner pocket and producing a pair of pink knit mittens. "These should help…marginally."

"Thanks." Chihiro slipped on the mittens and her hands warmed up instantly. "So what now?"

"We go inside, obviously," said Yubaba, shaking the snow off her shoulders. "And we see where Haku is. This might take awhile."

They headed inside and got away from the mouth of the cave to escape the snow. Even though the chill wasn't any lower in the cave, Chihiro couldn't help but admire her surroundings. It didn't look like the stereotypical dark shapeless interior of a normal cave. It was like the walls, the ceiling, and the floor was made out of blue crystal. Chihiro touched the wall and found that it was neither hot nor cold. "This is amazing."

Zeniba produced a lantern from her cloak and with the snap her fingers created a flame. "Perhaps, but these crystals won't help us find Haku."

Yubaba produced a lantern of her own. "I can't wait to see the troublemaker. I have a few choice words I'd like to say to him."

"I thought we agreed that it would be Chihiro that would talk to him, given that we have no idea what kind of state he's in."

Yubaba waved a dismissive hand. "Believe me, my words will have no real impact on him."

They started walking through the cave, making twists and turns as they ventured deeper into the mountain. Chihiro kept a close eye on the scales while Yubaba and Zeniba observed their surroundings. Though everything was beautiful, after a while it got monotonous. And Chihiro didn't see any other path other than the one they were on. It went on for hours and she was incredibly weary from everything that happened that day. But she sucked it up and kept going.

_Please be all right, Haku, _she thought, knotting her fingers around the jar. _Please, please, please be all right!_

"Amazing," said Yubaba.

"What is?" asked Chihiro.

"We've been walking through this damn cave for nearly three hours and I haven't heard a complaint out of you."

"I'll rest when we find Haku."

"Well, be sure to eat," said Zeniba, shoving a piece of bread at her. "Or you'll collapse again."

"Thanks." She ventured on ahead of the sisters, eating the bread sparingly. Though she ended up ten feet in front of them she caught fragments of their conversation.

"I guess she's grown up."

"I think the fact that she's putting herself through all this a second time to save those she cares about shows she's grown up."

"Well, you didn't meet her the same time I did. She was just a whiny little girl—"

"Trying to save her parents."

"She was still whiny. And I imagine her brother's the exact same way."

_You have no idea, _thought Chihiro fondly, though she felt close to tears. Though she was confident that everything would work out she was still worried. Sei was annoying, but she wanted him alive and annoying.

And Haku…how were they going to put him back together? What kind of state would they find him in?

…On that note, _when_ were they going to find him? Chihiro knew Minori wouldn't leave him out in the open, but this was starting to get ridiculous. Just how deep in the mountain was he imprisoned?

"Okay, I've had enough!" fumed Yubaba. "We've been on this track for three and a half hours and have found no signs of that brat!" she turned to one of the walls. "We're taking a shortcut."

"Shortcut?" asked Chihiro. "But I don't—"

Yubaba walked right up to the wall and put her hand through it. "As I thought."

Chihiro gaped at her. "How did you—what magic—"

"No magic," said Zeniba. "I think I know what this cave looks as majestic as it does. It's a distraction."

"Distraction?"

"There are different passages and cubby holes all over the place. But you can't see it in passing because everything looks the same. That's probably why Minori chose this mountain to imprison Haku; so that if anyone tried to find him they wouldn't. She's greatly downplayed our intelligence, though."

"I see now," said Chihiro. "This cavern is like an optical illusion."

"In a way. Now let's go."

They went down the shortcut, which looked exactly the same as the path they'd just been on. To Chihiro's dismay, the glow in the scales was dying down. "Hang on—"

"I have a hunch," interrupted Yubaba. "Keep going."

"But the scales—"

"Don't doubt me, Sen. I know what I'm doing."

Chihiro stopped in her tracks and glared at Yubaba's back. "It took you nearly four hours to figure out this cave was an optical illusion! Now listen to me! The scales aren't reacting strongly anymore, which means we're wandering further away from Haku!"

Yubaba glared over her shoulder. "Be quiet and listen. I told you I have a hunch. We're following it and we're staying on this path."

"You—the scales—" Chihiro turned to Zeniba. "Can't you help me with this, Granny?"

"As much as I hate to admit it," said Zeniba. "My sister is pretty good with hunches. I suggest we stick on this path for the time being."

"Fine," grumbled Chihiro, stomping after them. "And when we hit a dead end I'm gonna laugh hysterically."

As Chihiro feared the further they went down the path the softer the glow became. She didn't voice anymore protest since Yubaba had opted to ignore her completely. Ten minutes later they did in fact reach a dead end and by then the scales had stopped glowing entirely.

"I told you!" snapped Chihiro, jabbing a finger at Yubaba. "This was only a giant waste of time! How can we—"

"Chihiro, calm down," said Zeniba. "Look around us closely."

"What? All I see is crystal!"

"Remember, this cave is a distraction. This isn't really a dead end."

"Fine!" Chihiro squinted at the walls as closely as she could. She saw an uneven surface amist the blue crystal. She glanced at the scales, but they weren't glowing. "Okay fine, there's a path! But Haku isn't anywhere near by!"

"Let's go," said Yubaba, starting down this new path.

"Why do I even bother?" said Chihiro helplessly, feeling tears build up in her eyes. Zeniba patted her on the shoulder comfortingly, but both followed Yubaba.

"We're almost there," said Yubaba just moments later.

"We're almost where?" demanded Chihiro, but then something caught her eye. She looked down at the scales and squinted her eyes shut at how bright they were glowing. "But—how—"

"I told you I had a hunch," said Yubaba. "And I forgive you."

"I'm not apologizing yet!" But Chihiro picked up the pace, nearly running after the sisters in her eagerness. The scales were glowing brighter…it was only a matter of time now…

Yubaba rounded a corner and stopped dead in her tracks. Her jawed and her eyes widened in horror. "I don't believe it…"

"What is it?" demanded Zeniba. She came up behind Yubaba, only to mirror Yubaba's expression of horror. "Oh no…"

"What?" screamed Chihiro, sprinting up to the corner. She pushed past the sisters and slapped her hands over her mouth, muffling a scream.

They had found Haku. And as they feared he was not in the best shape. He was in his dragon form, but he was encased in a thick slab of ice, in suspended animation. The room itself was gigantic, but the ice encasing expanded the whole room. They could only move into the room a few inches.

"Haku!" screamed Chihiro, pressing her hands to the ice. But even with her enchanted mittens her hands immediately went numb.

"Get off it!" screamed Yubaba, yanking her back. "That's that normal ice! If you touch it too long it'll absorb you!"

"You have to help him!" The tears that had been at her eyes were now spilling out. "Please help him!"

"We're on it, Chihiro," said Zeniba, cupping her hands. A fireball formed. "Step back!"

Chihiro got out the way as the sisters conjured up balls of fire and threw them at the ice barrier. The twin balls hit the barrier hard and stayed still on it for a few moments before they disappeared, the barrier completely unscathed.

"Dammit," fumed Yubaba. "We can't melt it!"

"Then we…can't get him out?" wailed Chihiro.

"Hang on," said Zeniba, examining the ice barrier as closely as she could without touching it. "I sense something familiar about this…I feel…traces…"

"Now that you mention it," said Yubaba. "I feel traces too."

"Traces of what?" demanded Chihiro.

Yubaba chuckled humorlessly. "I have to hand it to the bitch…she's certainly clever."

"What—"

"Minori combined our spells with this ice barrier," said Zeniba. "Normally enchanted ice barriers can be melted, but spliced with another spells make it much stronger. She used traces of spells we put on Haku to tie in this barrier."

"Traces of spells?" Chihiro thought hard back to when she'd last been in the Spirit World. "You mean the…slug and the gold seal?"

"Yes," said Yubaba grimly. "So in a sense we need to break those spells before we break the barrier."

Chihiro rubbed a hand through her hair. _Okay…the slug put Haku under Yubaba's control, and the gold seal put a death curse on Haku. That would explain why he looks dead right now. How did he break the spells before? Wait…he was completely free of Yubaba when he remembered his name and the power of love broke Zeniba's curse!_

"I know what to do!" cried Chihiro excitedly, scrubbing away her tears. "Someone who loves him has to recite his name while attacking the barrier!"

Both sisters looked at Chihiro for a long moment before tapping her shoulder. "Tag, you're it."

"Huh?"

"Well hon, neither of us loves Haku," said Zeniba sweetly. "And I never heard his real name."

"And I don't remember the stupid thing," said Yubaba. "So it's up to you."

Chihiro turned a little red as she stared at the barrier. "I…I mean, I care about Haku, but I—"

"Ah, but your love saved him," quipped Zeniba. "So it should work again."

Chihiro ducked her head, but approached the barrier. Now wasn't the time to argue. "Okay…Haku's name…"

To her horror she couldn't remember his full name. She knew he was the Kohaku River, but that was not his full name. His name came with a title…but she didn't remember it!

She touched the ice barrier hesitantly and gave it a slight push. "Kohaku River!"

Nothing happened.

_Oh no, his full name is required! I'm awful! I remember so much of my journey when I was ten, why can't I remember his full name! _

But she also knew she was just beating herself up. She had just been a child then and his full name had been very complicated. Even as they fell out of the sky she kept referring to him as the Kohaku River and he had to keep correcting her.

_Think, Chihiro THINK! Sei and Haku need you help! You have to remember his name now!_

She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to remember that night when he remembered his name.

_"Once, when I was little, I fell into a river—"_

"What's she doing?" asked Yubaba.

"Shh!" hissed Zeniba.

_"But I remember it's name was the Kohaku River—"_

"This is a waste of time."

"I said shh! She's trying to remember his name!"

_"Thank you, Chihiro—" _

"_It sounds like the name of a god—"_

_Dammit, what's his name!_

"Wonderful, she doesn't know it."

Something clicked in Chihiro's head. _Wait…god…kami…nushi…THAT'S IT!_

She pushed on the barrier again. "Nigihayami Kohaku Nushi!"

The barrier cracked violently under her hands.

"_That's it!_" screamed Zeniba.

"Keep it up!" encouraged Yubaba.

Chihiro shoved at the barrier again. "Nigihayami Kohaku Nushi!"

The barrier cracked again and pieces of ice fell to the floor.

"Nigihayami Kohaku Nushi!" she shoved as hard as she could. "Nigihayami Kohaku Nushi!" she slapped her hands on it. "Nigihayami Kohaku Nushi!" she smashed her fist upon it.

Over and over again she screamed Haku's true name and the once indestructible barrier was crumbling like sand. She found her fists to be most effective and she threw violent punches at the barrier, screaming his name like a mantra. From behind her the sisters screamed their encouragement, having no other means to help her out.

Soon she was just two feet away from Haku. Her arms were sore, her throat raw, and the pink mittens were turning red from her bleeding knuckles, but she didn't waver.

"NIGIHAYAMI KOHAKU NUSHI!" she screamed, punching the ice one last time. It put a hole right above Haku. Chihiro ripped off a glove and reached into the hole. Her fingers grazed over Haku's back. "Wake up, Nigihayami Kohaku Nushi!"

The ice between them exploded. Chihiro surged forward and took his limp body into her arms. "Ha—"

Before she could say more the remains of the barrier exploded, including the heavy portion above their heads. She screamed and moved to cover Haku's head. But quick as lightning her head was thrust down towards the floor and a dark shadow fell over her. She heard the violent crashes of the ice falling apart, but she couldn't see anything. Then there was silence.

A hand drew down and cupped her face. She was pulled up into a sitting position and she found herself staring to familiar dark eyes.

"Chihiro…"

--

I'm sorry if this story feels rushed. But there's a lot to happen and I wanted to get right to the point without dragging things out.


	9. Chapter 9

I'm so happy for all the good reviews! I'm glad it doesn't feel like I'm rushing through the story. And to answer everyone's questions, I got the name Nigihayami Kohaku Nushi from the Japanese version of Spirited Away. I felt like it was a more compelling name than just Kohaku River. Don't ask me what it means though; I think it's something like 'God of the Kohaku River' or something.

And lucy5556, Sei is both a boy and a girl's name. The name Sei can be used for both genders depending upon how it's written.

Anyways, enjoy chapter 9!

Chapter 9

Chihiro was speechless. She couldn't think of anything to say, but she knew deep down that this was the Haku she was familiar with.

"Chihiro," he said again, smoothing a hand over her cheek. He looked no different than the Haku that stood at Minori's side, but his presence and his eyes…he was the Haku she'd known six years ago. "Chihiro…say my name again."

Chihiro swallowed thickly, hardly believing this was real. "Nigihayami Kohaku Nushi."

Haku choked, tears springing into his kind yet haunted eyes. He threw his arms around her shoulders. "You're really here! I'm not dreaming, you're here!"

Chihiro felt her own tears returning and she returned his hug. "I'm back, Haku."

"Everything's been so crazy…I never thought I'd make it out!" He pulled back enough to look into her face again. "You saved me again. Thank you."

Chihiro managed a smile. "I wasn't about to leave you like this."

Their moment was interrupted by a cough behind them. "As sweet as all of this is," said Yubaba. "This little reunion can wait."

"It's certainly sweet, though," said Zeniba. "Although I reluctantly agree with you."

Haku nodded, glancing at the sister's over Chihiro's head. "I understand. The sooner I leave this cave behind, the better." He forced himself to his feet and promptly lost his balance.

Chihiro quickly stood up and caught him. "Here, lean on me a little."

"Thanks." Haku straightened again with Chihiro's help and she couldn't help but notice his attire. He was dressed in silver robes similar to what was worn in Noh theatres and his long hair was hanging loose. He was a stark contrast to the fragment at Minori's side.

"Hopefully you will regain enough of your strength to transform and carry her," said Yubaba. "She's too heavy for me."

"I'm not too heavy!" said Chihiro indignantly.

"She's a growing girl," added Zeniba. "She shouldn't be blamed because you lack the strength to carry her."

"My strength is the same as it's always been! She's just heavier!"

"Why don't we stop debating about how fat I am and get out of here! growled Chihiro. Haku laughed a little in the nape of her neck.

"All right, all right," said Zeniba. "Let's retrace our steps and get out of this optical illusion."

Getting out of the cave seemed a lot easier than going through it. Chihiro knew it was because they succeeded in what they came here for.

Unfortunately for her, the snow hadn't let up any once they reached the outside. And night had fallen, making their surroundings freezing and dark.

"I usually fly at night anyways," said Yubaba, securing her robe around herself. "This should be a cakewalk."

"I won't have any problems either," said Zeniba. She glanced at Haku. "How are you feeling? Do you feel well enough to transform or should we carry you?"

Haku pulled away from Chihiro. Chihiro couldn't see him but she knew he was still weak. "I'll be all right. But I think one of you should carry Chihiro. I don't want to risk anything."

Yubaba scoffed. "Lazy as usual—"

"_I'll _carry her," snapped Zeniba. "Since it's night we should head back to that village. I hope you can offer a few explanations, Haku."

"I understand." Chihiro felt a sudden whoosh as Haku transformed into a dragon and took off. She nearly screamed when something grabbed hold of her shoulders and she was airborne.

"Well, that didn't take too long at all," said Yubaba smugly. "Looks like I'll have my bathhouse back sooner than later."

"Not so fast," said Zeniba. "We have to really check Haku's condition. As it stands he might not make good backup, especially since part of him is serving under Minori."

"But we got Haku back," said Chihiro. "He's awake and he transformed into a dragon successfully. I think that shows he'll be all right."

"Perhaps. But I still wants answers out of him."

--

"All right then," said Zeniba, stretching out her feet on the ottoman. They managed to get a room within the town, though it only had one bed. But Zeniba and Yubaba used their magic to produce three more beds, though it made the room very crowded. "Let's hear it all."

Haku swallowed thickly as Chihiro settled him onto one of the beds. He didn't lie down though but just leaned against the headboard. "Yes. Where do you want me to start?"

"Let's think about this for a minute," said Yubaba sarcastically. "How did that bitch Minori get hold of a fragment of you!"

"Hey, calm down a little!" said Chihiro defensively. "Try to think of—"

"I'm not going to sit around and play patty-cake with Haku, Sen! I want answers and I certainly don't want to hear anything from the girl who caused all this!"

Chihiro shot to her feet. "Oh, are we on that again?"

"It's the truth, though! If only you had stayed in line someone like Minori would have NEVER been able to take over my establishment!"

"Well, excuse me for trying to save my parents from being eaten!"

"It wasn't my fault they were naturally pigs!"

"Don't talk about my parents that way! And stop blaming me for all your problems! If there's anyone to blame—"

"It's me," Haku finished quietly.

Chihiro glanced at him. "That's not what I meant."

"I know. But I'm speaking the truth; the reason this is all happening is because of me."

"Aha!" cried Yubaba, jabbing a finger at him. "I knew it! This is what you get for turning your back on me."

Haku glared at her coldly. "This might come as a shock to you, but not everything in the world is in correlation of you."

Zeniba snickered behind her hand while Yubaba sputtered at Haku's words.

Chihiro sat in front of Haku and took hold of his hands. "Please…tell me what happened to you, Haku."

Haku turned to her, no longer glaring. "When you revealed to me my true name, I thought I could do anything. I thought for once I was finally free and could collect the memories I'd lost and get home. As you obviously know I approached Yubaba and quit. I was no longer under her spell and I tore up my own contract. Then I left the bathhouse and went on a journey to find my family."

"Your family?"

"Every body of water is indivertibly connected to another. In your world you have streams, rivers, lakes, and oceans all connected. Those that are directly connected are family to one another. When my river still existed, it was small but it was connected to many other bodies of water."

"Ah, I see. So you have an extended family of river gods based on which rivers and lakes you were connected to?"

"That's right. My only problem was this plain isn't where my family lives. They live elsewhere in a world specifically for the river gods. But I was so enthusiastic about my journey that I just flew everywhere, looking over every inch to find a gateway to that world."

Chihiro nodded. "I knew there were more gates other than the one I've gone through."

"My only problem was I couldn't find any gates like that. Sure, I found a few of them leading to other worlds, but not the one I was looking for. When I realized I couldn't find it, I lost hope." Haku lowered his head. "I'd felt so alone while being imprisoned at the bathhouse, but now I was genuinely alone. I had no friends to give me support and guide me. I was by myself."

"I wouldn't call your services imprisonment," grumbled Yubaba.

"So what did you do?" asked Chihiro, talking over Yubaba's comment.

"I found a strange gate. It was completely sealed. By this time I had been looking for over five years by myself and I was desperate. For some reason, I got the idea in my head that _this_ gateway led to my world and that the Spirit World was working in mass conspiracy against me. So I…blew up the seal."

"You what!" everyone screamed.

"Of course, what I found was not a gateway to my world but a gateway to a Demon Realm. But I didn't know it at the time. Minori emerged from the gateway and then resealed it herself. I didn't know who she was but she was very helpful and kind to me. When I told her I wanted to find a gateway she was more than ready to help me.

"She gave me renewed hope to find my home and traveled with me. She never spoke about herself but insisted I tell her everything about myself. I admit she made me suspicious, but she'd also been the first companion I'd had in a long time. After a few months of traveling together and _still _not finding this gateway I lost hope again and spilled out everything about me down in the village. She acted like she was all concerned for me until I…" he looked at Chihiro. "Talked about you."

"Me?" she asked.

"I told her all about how you saved me and how much you meant to me and how much I missed you, things like that. But Minori didn't care about any of that. She was more intent to know how you got here. I made the mistake of talking about how your family and you crossed over accidentally and suddenly she made her true colors known.

"She revealed to me how much she wanted to get into the Human World and how her world did not have a gateway to it. Her plans were so elaborate that I knew she'd been planning this for a long time, even while she was traveling with me. I didn't know why she wanted to get there, and I didn't care. I didn't want her anywhere near the gateway.

"We ended up fighting but she quickly overpowered me. Though I had ended up telling her a lot about myself I'd left out key aspects of myself…particularly where exactly the bathhouse was. And since I knew of her intentions I wasn't about to give up that information. Minori wasted no time in taking me into the mountain to torture me."

"Torture?" cried Chihiro, aghast.

"Mind and magical torture. I don't even know how long she did it for; the pain made time seem worthless. But I told her nothing and she only got more frustrated. Finally, she got sick of torturing me and decided on a new tactic; pulling me apart.

"This hurt far more than the torture did. She searched the depths of my soul to uncover a part of myself she could use freely. She uncovered the cold, obedient me that I'd been under Yubaba's control and snagged hold of it. Then she literally pulled us apart and warped his personality so that he would be faithful only to her. Of course, she was able to get the necessary information out of him and set about her new mission. She sealed me up in there to make sure I couldn't interfere, where I remained up to tonight."

Silence followed Haku's words. But Yubaba was positively smoldering from her seat.

"Boy," she hissed. "When I reclaim my bathhouse, you had better not be within my vicinity!"

"Hush up!" snapped Zeniba. "She was able to find out the location because of YOU!"

"I think we all have an equal amount of responsibility," said Chihiro, trying to avoid another argument. "So let's just say that since each of us had a hand in this chaos it'll be our job to get rid of Minori. Okay?"

"Chihiro," said Haku. "Don't think that any of this is your fault. You were a victim last time and you did act for the greater good. I don't want you getting hurt on my account."

"Too late," muttered Yubaba.

"I'm involved in this too," said Chihiro firmly. "My little brother was kidnapped by Minori for some 'key' I supposedly have. Do you know what she's talking about?"

Haku thought about it for a long moment. "Well, since Minori is still in this world that means she doesn't have access to the Human World yet. Maybe she thinks you have the key to the gateway?"

"That makes a lot of sense," said Zeniba. "It would explain why she's going to such lengths."

"But it still doesn't make sense," said Chihiro. "Your half came into my world on its own, attacked me, and kidnapped Sei. I don't—"

Haku gripped her hands. "I attacked you?"

Chihiro felt guilty and tried to laugh it off. "It wasn't really you, just that fragment."

"Chihiro, it's still me. And I attacked…" Haku looked her over carefully. "Are you all right?"

"I had a couple of bruises, but I'm fine now."

Haku sighed sadly, running a quick hand through his hair. "I'm so sorry…"

"Don't be sorry. I know the real you wouldn't do that so it's fine."

"No, it's not fine. It's not…" he trailed off.

"As we were saying," said Yubaba, rolling her eyes at them. "Haku was a river of your world so naturally he would have a tie to it. And since he's grown in the Spirit World he's much stronger than he was as a river. Minori must've enhanced an already existing connection. But since she has no connection whatsoever to the Human World she can't do the same thing to herself."

"That makes sense," said Chihiro, looking away from Haku's guilt-ridden eyes. "But at least we stand a fighting chance now against her."

"Not really," said Haku. "When she took that fragment with her she'd also extracted a lot of my power. That part of me is a lot stronger."

"But you can still fight, right?" snapped Yubaba. "You can turn into a dragon freely, so you still possess power. All we have to do is get you healed up and then we can fix this stupid mess you put us in."

"Granny—" said Chihiro.

"No, she's right," interrupted Haku. "I did this to everyone so I have to fix it. And I will fix it. I'll get her out of the bathhouse and help you save Sei."

"Thank you!" cried Chihiro, throwing her arms around him.

"It's the very least I can do."


	10. Chapter 10

laughing nervously Another long update! I'm so sorry for the wait, especially for those of you who waited over a year for chapter 3! My fall semester is starting soon and I might be working two jobs. But I swear I'll try to keep updating here! Please enjoy chapter 10.

Chapter 10

They left that small town the next morning and departed for Zeniba's house. For a good portion of the trip Chihiro rode on Haku's back, as he seemed to be getting stronger.

"I know I'm a little heavier than I was when I was ten," said Chihiro apologetically.

"You're fine, Chihiro. I've grown too, I'll be all right."

"And you'll be better once we piece you back together."

When they drew close to the region where the bathhouses were, the sisters made Haku transform into his human form and they carried them the rest of the way. Each of them was a little worried that Minori would pick up on Haku's presence even out of his dragon form. But for the most part their journey back was uneventful.

Until they _did _get back.

Chihiro was surprised when the sisters made a quick stop just outside the forest. Haku looked just as worried as they did and they ventured on carefully. Chihiro wanted to know what was wrong, but she could tell it was bad if all three of them were worried.

"Why can you not find this damned house!"

Chihiro's blood ran cold and her mind filled with fury. But Yubaba clamped a hand over her mouth and both sisters threw a giant dark cloak over all four of them. They watched from the shadows as Minori paced around the clearing where Zeniba's house should be. And standing there placid was the other Haku.

"Forgive me, Milady," said the other Haku, bowing his head. "But the sisters are very powerful. Each was able to subdue me with their powers individually. Their combined powers will not be easy to target."

Chihiro glanced between the two Hakus. It was very strange seeing them both out there at once. It was even stranger to see the other Haku not the mindless puppet she thought, but actually sharing the thoughts and sentiments that Haku should have.

_Well, he IS Haku whether we like it or not, _she thought. The Haku next to her watched the pair with a grim expression, clenching his fists tightly. It hurt her to know how much Haku wanted to take action but it was unwise as ill equipped as they were. Not to mention they were too close to Zeniba's house and they couldn't give up its location.

_We can do this, Haku, _she thought to him, not daring to try and whisper. She took hold of one of his clenched hands. He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye and calmed down a little bit.

"Yubaba was the one who rescued her," barked Minori. "Or Zeniba. I can't tell those two crones apart. No matter, one of them rescued her and I _know _they've been out here all this time. And Zeniba's should be RIGHT THERE!" she punctuated the words with the jab of her finger.

"I am sorry," said the other Haku. "I will try even harder to find Chihiro."

"You had better! I'm sick of playing house at that damned bathhouse! I should've been in the Human World a long time ago! I _need _that key!"

Without another word Minori was gone in a wisp of dark mist. The other Haku transformed into a dragon and took off into the sky.

Chihiro let out a quiet sigh of relief. "They didn't feel us…"

"Of course they didn't," said Zeniba. "We threw on a shielding coat over us. Now isn't the best time to stage an attack, especially since we don't have a proper plan."

"Then let's go make a proper plan!" said Yubaba, storming towards the clearing.

Chihiro laid a hand on Haku's shoulder. "Are you all right?"

Haku nodded slowly. "It wasn't easy seeing that side of me, considering how long it took me to bury him. But I will get him back—"

"_We'll_ get him back. We'll save the bathhouse, save Sei, and get you whole again."

Haku smiled at her. "Yes, we will."

--

"Okay," said Yubaba, cracking her knuckles before leaning over a piece of paper on Zeniba's table. "We're going to have to figure out how we'll storm the place. I was thinking we come out in full force—"

"You can't do that!" cried Chihiro.

"And why not?"

Because if we recklessly attack, the workers in the bathhouse might get caught in the crossfire?"

"I don't care about those backstabbers! They can—"

"You'll care once you regain control of everything and you have no one left to work for you," said Zeniba.

Yubaba was silent for a long minute before throwing her pen over her shoulder. "All right, fine. We'll do a simple infiltration thing."

"That's the only way we'll manage the whole shebang without anyone dying!" snapped Zeniba. "So we each need our own set of jobs we'll be doing once this coup d'etat gets underway."

For hours they sat around that little table discussing who was going to be doing what. Chihiro felt nervous about the idea; it was _way_ beyond what she had to do when she had to rescue her parents. Inwardly she was glad she was not facing these kinds of trials as a child; she probably wouldn't know how to deal with it.

"Okay, this is what we got!" said Yubaba, holding up the sheet of paper. "Me and Zeniba—"

"Zeniba and I," corrected Zeniba.

"Zeniba and I will take on Minori ourselves. Haku, you're going to take on your other half, correct?"

"Yes," said Haku.

"No-Face, you're going to look for the contracts while we distract Minori and destroy them, correct?"

No-Face grunted and nodded his head to show his understanding. Since he could go walk invisible and quietly, everyone felt like he was the best choice to look for the contracts.

"And Sen and Boh, you're going to evacuate the workers into the boiler room," said Yubaba hesitantly, glancing at her son. That job would've been just Chihiro's alone, but Boh threw a temper tantrum about not being allowed to help. He also argued he knew a lot of secret passages in the bathhouse.

"Right!" said Boh cheerfully.

"I'll take care of him," said Chihiro. She was also a little hesitant about having Boh assist her, since he wasn't very fast on his feet. But he claimed he knew more secret passages than her, so she couldn't argue with that.

"Then it's settled," said Yubaba. "Tomorrow afternoon we strike. A demon's power is not at its peak during that time and it's our best bet Minori will be vulnerable. So let's all get a lot of sleep; we're going to need it."

"There's plenty of room for everyone to sleep," offered Zeniba gently. But as everyone moved to go to bed, she took hold of Haku's arm. "Hold on a second, Haku. I need to talk to you about something."

Haku stared at her confused. "Is something wrong?"

"Not…quite. There's been something weighing on my mind for a while that I need to speak with you about alone."

Chihiro felt a little uneasy. Zeniba hadn't seemed like something was weighing on her mind. But maybe she was just poor at reading people?

Zeniba glanced at her. "Go on to bed, Chihiro. You have one of the most important jobs tomorrow."

Chihiro glanced at Haku, who gave her a nod. "I'll head to bed soon, too. We've been traveling all day and everyone needs a lot of rest."

Chihiro slowly nodded. "…All right. But don't you two stay up too long either."

"We won't."

Chihiro headed into one of the side rooms to find a comfortable bed waiting for her, along with a pair of summer pajamas. She pulled off her clothes and slipped into them, and her muscles instantly relaxed. She smiled in satisfaction, relieved once again at how attentive Zeniba was.

_I'm coming for you, Sei, _she thought to her little brother as she slipped into bed. _By this time tomorrow you'll be free from your contract and with me again._ Almost immediately drowsiness hit her and she was asleep.

--

CRASH!

"You're telling me this NOW!"

Chihiro snapped awake. She knew she hadn't slept for too long though she felt rested. But fear overpowered that at the sound of Haku's raised voice. Even at his most furious she'd never heard him scream like this.

Chihiro hopped out of bed and opened the door. All at once the arguing in the main room silenced. Both Zeniba and Haku stared at Chihiro as she approached. Chihiro was amazed no one else had arisen to the noise.

"What's going on?" she asked fearfully, noticing the broken dishes on the floor. "What happened?"

"Zeniba," hissed Haku, jabbing a finger at her. "Has JUST told me where the portal I'm looking for is!"

Chihiro's jaw dropped. "What?"

"I would've told you before," said Zeniba calmly. "Had I known that was what you were looking for. But you left without a word to anyone and I had no idea why."

"My home and family aren't here!" yelled Haku. "And I no longer exist in the Human World! Where else would I go!"

"I had no idea," repeated Zeniba. "But had you come to ask me, I would've been more than happy to have told you."

"But Granny," asked Chihiro, her mind whirling. This was all too much for her at once. "How do you know where the portal is?"

"Why do you think I live out in this swamp?" answered Zeniba. "With the powers I have, I could live anywhere I wanted and as far away from my sister as I wanted. But I didn't. Do you know why?"

Chihiro shook her head.

"I guard this gate."

Chihiro's jaw dropped. "WHAT!"

"And that's not all," said Haku. "When I first came here a long time ago SHE'S the one who found me!"

Chihiro fell into a chair. "What—huh—wha—this doesn't make any sense! You guard the gate to Haku's world? And you found Haku? AND you sent him to live with Yubaba!"

"Why do you think I took it so personally when he stole my gold seal?" said Zeniba. "At the point I found him I was doing all right by myself and I thought I'd do them both a favor; Haku needed a place to live and Yubaba needed more workers. I killed two birds with one stone. But then he shows up out of the blue, pretending he wants to visit me, and when my back is turned he swallows my seal and is gone."

"I was _enslaved_," snapped Haku.

"And why do you think I sent those paper birds after him?" asked Zeniba, ignoring Haku. "Because I know dragons. A simple aerial assault would do no good; dragons are too powerful and too fast. So I used the birds because their cuts could hurt him, and they did."

"So…the gate is around here somewhere, then?" asked Chihiro.

"Of course. Since I guard it I must live near it and control the disturbances in it."

"Take me to it NOW," demanded Haku.

"I want to go too," said Chihiro. "Haku spent over five years trying to find this gate. I want to see it."

Zeniba brushed off her skirt and stood. "All right, I'll take you to it. Since I guard the gate I can open it as I please. But I must warn you that dragons are territorial. They might not recognize you, Haku, and they certainly won't take kindly to a human."

"I understand," said Chihiro.

"Let's go," snapped Haku.

"I know, I know," said Zeniba. "But I'll remind you our invasion is still going on tomorrow as planned."

--

Chihiro had never seen Haku so angry in her life. He walked stiffly behind Zeniba, his fists clenched in tight knots at his sides. She tried to say something encouraging to him, but she couldn't think of anything to say. What _could _she say to him after he spent so long searching and all he had to do was fly out to Zeniba's house and ask her?

"We're almost there," said Zeniba ahead of them. Chihiro suddenly heard rushing water. Her mind filled with memories of the time Haku saved her from drowning. Was the gate inside a river?

They left the shelter of the trees and found a huge clearing. Chihiro stared stunned at her surroundings; gushing water everywhere. Everything was wet, including the bridge in front of him. The only thing that seemed dry was an old building at the end of the bridge. Waterwheels were lined up stretching for miles in both directions on either side of the building.

"So this is the gate?" asked Chihiro.

"This is the gate," said Zeniba, glancing at Haku. "Do you want to go in?"

Haku nodded. "I'm going in now." He stormed across the bridge.

Zeniba glanced at Chihiro. "And you?"

Chihiro shrugged. "I'm sure nothing will surprise me anymore." She started after Haku.

Haku had reached the old tattered door by the time Chihiro caught up to him. He grabbed hold of the handle and paused briefly.

"Are you all right?" asked Chihiro, putting a hand on his shoulder.

Haku took a deep breath and nodded. "I just want to see. Then we can go back and reclaim the bathhouse."

But before he could pull open the door it was pushed open and someone walked through.


	11. Chapter 11

Are you ready for the next chapter? Er…you don't have to answer that. Just so you know, I had to get creative with some of the river names since my extensive research has produce almost no information about small rivers. The following, however, are actual rivers in Japan: Chikuma/Shinano, Tone, and Ishikari.

Chapter 11

Chihiro had no warning whatsoever. The door was pushed open and all she had time to see was a pair of dark eyes before a body slammed into hers. She stumbled backwards from the force of the attack until her back smacked into the bridge's railing and arched over it.

"Chihiro!" Haku screamed.

Delirious, Chihiro thought for a moment that it was Haku on top of her. Those dark eyes were not unlike his. But she had enough presence of mind to notice it was a girl attacking.

"A human dares to try and invade our world?" she hissed into Chihiro's face. "I don't think so."

In a flash the girl flew off her and slammed into the building. Chihiro nearly toppled into the water, but Haku rushed over and pulled her back up. "Are you all right?"

"I…" Chihiro looked at the girl, who was crouched near a large hole in the building. "Who is that?"

Before Haku answered, Zeniba sauntered over to the girl. "Do not forget which world this is. We are not invading; I as this gate's guardian gave them permission. You had no right to attack like this."

The girl shot to her feet, glaring at Chihiro. "Don't—"

But her voice died. Now that she was no longer attacking her, Chihiro could see how strongly the girl resembled Haku; her long dark hair and eyes were like his. Even Haku was taken aback.

"K…Kohaku?" asked the girl meekly. She took a step towards Haku. "Is that you, Kohaku?"

Haku swallowed thickly and straightened, though he stepped in front of Chihiro cautiously. "I am Nigihayami Kohaku Nushi. Who are you?"

"Who am I? _Who am I_?" the girl suddenly burst into tears. "I'm Nigihayami Tomoko Nushi, your sister!"

"Sister!" cried Haku and Chihiro.

Tomoko nodded her head vigorously. "We're children of Nigihayami Chikuma Nushi!"

"Hang on!" said Chihiro, trying and failing to digest all the information. "Are you saying you're the spirit of the Tomoko River? And Haku and you are related to the spirit of the Shinano River, the _longest river in Japan_!"

"Don't talk to me, human," seethed Tomoko, glaring at Chihiro through her tears. "I have to put up with your insolence enough as a river, I will NOT tolerate it in my own world!"

Chihiro felt a headache coming on. "I'd appreciate it if you didn't categorize me."

"And don't speak to Chihiro like that," added Haku tightly. "She's a wonderful person who deserves respect."

Chihiro blushed a little at his words. "Haku…"

"Why do you defend a human?" demanded Tomoko. "Do you not know what they do!"

"Humans destroyed my river. I am very aware of what they're capable of. But Chihiro is not like them and I won't tolerate such things said about her."

Zeniba coughed discreetly. "I am the guardian of this gate on this side and they were allowed access so Haku could see his true world."

"Of course he's allowed here," protested Tomoko. "But I don't want _her_." she jabbed a finger at Chihiro. "Anywhere near my world! What is she doing in this Spirit World, anyway? She doesn't belong here!"

"Tomoko, stand down," said a gruff voice from the darkness of the doorway.

Tomoko flinched and turned towards the door, her head lowered. "I'm sorry, Father. But she…"

_Father? _thought Chihiro, her stomach squirming. If this girl was Haku's sister as she claimed, then her father…

The tattered door opened wider and a man stepped through. Chihiro gulped, immediately intimidated. This stranger was definitely one of power; towering over the lot of them. His very long hair was as glossy black as Haku's, his beard as long as his hair, hanging down his front to touch the ground. His eyes were dark and narrow, surveying everyone standing on the bridge. He wore robes so dark blue they were almost black, obscuring his entire body.

If the man were about to reprimand Tomoko, he stilled when he caught sight of Haku, still standing in front of Chihiro protectively. His narrow eyes became wide with shock and he took several steps forward.

"Kohaku…" he said softly, raising his arms. "Are you my son, Nigihayami Kohaku Nushi?"

Haku started shaking and Chihiro could tell he was struggling to keep his composure. "That is my name, sir."

"It _is _Kohaku, Father!" cried Tomoko. "I would know my brother from anywhere!"

The man, surely Shinano, motioned to him. "Come here, please. I want to look at my lost son."

But Haku remained where he stood. "I don't have all my memories, sir. Only vague ones when I was a river. I don't remember my family."

"I can assure you you're my son, Kohaku. I am Nigihayami Chikuma Nushi, or Shinano, either name fits fine with me. And I command the river of Japan. You were once directly linked to me, as Tomoko is now. That makes you my son." Shinano moved forward instead of waiting for Haku, tears building up in his eyes. "It really is you! My, how you've grown!"

Chihiro shrank a little behind Haku, happy for him to be reunited with his family while also feeling somewhat intimidated by being face-to-face with the spirit of Japan's longest river.

Her slight movement got Shinano's attention, though. "Ah, and who is this?"

"She is a human, trying to trespass into our world!" complained Tomoko loudly.

"That is not the case!" snapped Zeniba. She faced Shinano. "Believe me, sir, Chihiro does not seek to invade your world."

"I believe you," said Shinano evenly. He looked at Chihiro closely, though it made her even more uncomfortable. "I'm very intrigued by this. Did you choose her yourself, Zeniba?"

"No. I only met her a while later when she first came here."

Chihiro looked at Zeniba and then at Shinano. "What are you talking about?"

Before either could answer, a thunder of footsteps emerged from the open doorway. Suddenly the bridge became overcrowded with bodies. Chihiro found herself being pushed far away from Haku, who was overcome by the people on the bridge, all of who were grabbing at him. Only Shinano seemed unaffected by the sudden surge of people, though he did little in aiding his son.

"Is Kohaku here—"

"My, he's an adult—"

"He looks so much like his father—"

"Kohaku! Remember me?"

"Zeniba-_san_!" cried a pale-faced young man, forcing himself through the crowd towards her. He looked like he was just a few years older than Chihiro, but she knew better than to assume that was the case. "Here you are! What is the meaning of this!"

"Calm down, Taro-_san_," said Zeniba. "Everything's under control."

"Under control! Over twenty river gods have forced their way through the gate! I can't keep control of it on my end!"

"Your end?" asked Chihiro.

"Every gate has two official guardians," explained Zeniba. "I watch the gate on this end and Taro-_san_ here watches it on the other end. That way we both can monitor what goes through both sides."

"Oh." That made a lot more sense than the rest of the stuff. "Wait, then whose guardian of my world's gate?"

"Who else has an establishment so close to the gate?"

"You mean…_Yubaba_!"

"This gate is overcrowded!" wailed Taro.

"I agree," said Zeniba. She turned, having more room than anyone else. "This is causing too much of a commotion. We'll surely attract Minori's attention. Let's reconvene at my house—"

"No," said Shinano, his booming voice suddenly silencing the loud conversations. "I don't want to leave this gateway. I'll stay here with my kin to hear what's happened to my son. Everyone else go back to our world."

The spirits grumbled a little, but did what they were told. Taro heaved a sigh of relief and bowed to Zeniba. "It was good to see you again, Zeniba. But a foreword warning next time, please?"

Zeniba shrugged. "I didn't know I was delivering Nigihayami Chikuma Nushi's son to him."

Taro left without saying anything more and only Shinano, Tomoko and a few other river gods remained on the bridge with them.

One of them, a young woman, looked a Haku closely with a smile on her face. "He certainly does resemble you…"

"Enough, Tone," said Shinano, waving a hand dismissively.

Another man laughed gruffly. "Ha! You're just worried about saying the wrong thing!"

"That goes for you too, Ishikari."

Chihiro balked. She couldn't believe the spirits of Japan's biggest rivers were standing in front of her. It was a little too much for her, but she could only imagine what Haku was feeling.

"I want to know what happened to you, my son," Shinano said softly. "And how it is you came to be in this world."

Haku raised his head. "None of you came looking for me. I was lost and all alone for a long time. Why do I owe you an explanation?"

"Please don't be cross with us," said Tone evenly. "We cannot predict how the humans will act. And generally a river lost in body is lost in spirit as well. We did not know you were still among us, Kohaku."

"I'm begging you, Kohaku," said Shinano, bowing deeply. "We have missed you greatly and want to know what happened to you."

Haku glanced at Chihiro and she gave him an encouraging nod as she propped herself up on the rail. This had to be very trying for him; they still had to confront Minori and his other much stronger half in the morning.

But he talked. Seating himself next to Chihiro, he spoke about how his river was dug up and drained so an apartment complex could be built. He spoke about ended up in the Spirit World with no memories of his past, wandering aimlessly. Meeting Yubaba, being enslaved, doing her dirty work…it all came out painfully and the river gods listened with grim expressions on their faces.

"My sister is no longer a threat," assured Zeniba, somewhat uncomfortable by their expressions. "We have a demon inhabiting the bathhouses now."

"Tell me more," said Shinano, not acknowledging what Zeniba said.

Then Haku spoke about Chihiro and she was a little taken aback by how passionate he was. As he talked about her he took hold of one of her hands and held it tightly, though he didn't glance at her once. She glanced at the spirits and saw they were all looking at her. She turned red and ducked her head.

He explained their current situation very quickly and when he was through his grim expression made it clear he didn't want to repeat it. Obviously having his soul split up was a sensitive subject with him.

Shinano sighed softly. "You suffered so much all these years. And I didn't do enough for you." He bowed deeply again. "Please forgive me…"

All the spirits got up and bowed to him.

"I'm sorry!" sobbed Tomoko, scrubbing at her face.

"It's fine," said Haku, waving his hands. "Once I get my other half back I'll feel better."

Shinano straightened, managing a smile. "I think you'll be able to pull this off. After all, you have three guardians at your side."

Chihiro's insides turned to ice. She slowly slid off the rail. "Don't you mean two guardians?"

Shinano stared at her, confused. "Why would I say two? I meant three."

"But we only have two guardians on our side; Yubaba and Zeniba. Unless there's someone else." she glanced at Zeniba. "Granny?"

Zeniba took a deep breath and let it out. "Chihiro…dear, he's talking about you."

Chihiro felt her jaw drop. "_What_? I'm not a guardian!" she glanced at Shinano. "Shinano Nushi, I'm not a guardian! I'm just a human in the wrong place?"

"You _are_ Chihiro Ogino, are you not?" countered Shinano.

"Y-yes, but—"

"Then you're the guardian of the human side of the Human World gate."

"No!" Chihiro looked back at Zeniba, finding it hard to breathe. "Granny, I'm not a guardian! I just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time!"

"Chihiro, take a deep breath." Zeniba drew her close. "My dear, nothing happens by chance. Don't you think it was very convenient that your house, the deep blue one, is right next to the gate? The closest house in your community to the gate?"

"But—"

"And that your parents and you stumbled upon the gate?"

"But—"

"And that your parents and you came inside our world?"

"But—but we weren't welcome! Yubaba turned my parents into pigs!"

"Because they were rude. Every guardian is made to investigate the gateway they're guarding. Why do you think Yubaba detests humans so? Not just because they're bad business, but also do to her experiences when she investigated the human side of the gate."

"But—"

"By turning your parents into pigs, it showed she did not accept them. But you…you she kept around. And you bested her. And you befriended me, another guardian. She reluctantly accepted you and only you…as a guardian."

Chihiro wrenched away from her. "And you've kept this from me! All this time!"

"You were only ten when it was given to you," said Zeniba softly. "If I told you your responsibilities then, you would've been denied your childhood. As it turned out, you did a very good job guarding your end, albeit indivertibly. The other Haku's trespass into your world was the only incident you've had thus far.

She didn't want to be there anymore. She wanted to run away and hide. Saving Sei was one thing. But being the guardian of the Human World gate? Was this some kind of sick joke?

"_Of course you do. You're Chihiro, or more importantly _Sen_. Just give me the key and you can have your brother back."_

"_Since I guard the gate I can open it as I please."_

"_You _are_ Chihiro Ogino, right?"_

It was too much for her to handle.

Haku sensed her distress and reached for her. "Chihiro—"

Chihiro backed away from his hand. Before anyone could stop her she turned on her heel and ran straight for the forest, tears spilling down her cheeks.


	12. Chapter 12

I'm sorry for the long wait!! Thank you all for getting Somber Return 100+ reviews!! Well, no use in delaying any longer, here's chapter 12!!!

Chapter 12

Running seemed like the best option at the moment. Chihiro didn't know where she could run to, but she didn't care either.

Guardian…guardian…how could she be a guardian? She was only sixteen years old! She had enough going on with school and other things she didn't need _this_!

She tripped on something, either a root or her own feet, and skitted across the dirt. Great. Not only was she a guardian, but a _filthy _one at that.

Chihiro didn't bother pulling herself up. She just curled up on the ground and cried. It was all too much for her. Guardian of her world's gate…why did it have to be her?

She hated how much _sense_ it made. Why Minori came after her of all people, though she didn't know why she wanted to make it to the Human World so badly. She whimpered softly, burying her face into the dirt. Even if everything fit into place, it didn't make her feel better. She was better off not knowing at all.

"Chihiro?"

She tensed immediately at Haku's soundless appearance, but didn't move from her position on the ground. She didn't look up at him as he took a seat next to her and hesitantly put a hand on the back of her shoulder. "Are you all right?"

"No," she answered truthfully. She scrubbed the tears and dirt off her face as best as she could before she looked up at him. He stared down at her with kindness and…pity? She didn't know. "Did you know about this?"

Haku shook his head, but Chihiro was skeptical. "You—"

"I didn't know your family were guardian candidates and you were the one chosen," he interrupted. "Do you remember how surprised I was to see you here?"

Chihiro reluctantly nodded. She remembered that Haku literally pushed her away from the bathhouse while yelling at her to get out of there.

"If I was expecting guardian candidates, don't you think I would've treated you with a little more respect?"

She saw his point and nodded again, feeling guilty for accusing him. "I'm sor—"

"Don't apologize. Your suspicion is understandable, considering I was Yubaba's trusted student. But she said nothing to me."

Chihiro pushed herself up into a sitting position. "This is all too much for me at the moment. Sei's life is in danger and I'm a gate guardian…I don't know how to deal with this."

"There's not much I can say either," said Haku grimly. "Zeniba just told me tonight that she was the gate guardian to my home world." He managed a weak smile. "It looks like we both got a fair amount of shocks today."

"Yeah." Chihiro took a deep breath and let it out. "But that doesn't explain why it was kept from me all these years."

"So, you finally figured it out," said a voice from the darkness. Both Chihiro and Haku tensed as Yubaba emerged from the shadows, shaking her head at them. "It's about time, I might add. Managing a gate all by myself _and _a bathhouse is very trying."

Chihiro started to rise to her feet, but Haku grabbed hold of her hand. He sent Yubaba a dark look. "How long have you been standing there?"

"I heard a lot of commotion earlier by Zeniba's gate and decided to see what was going on. But I came upon you two first and wanted to know why you were here."

"You put me through hell," Chihiro snarled, but Haku's grip didn't loosen. "You kept me in the dark about _everything!_ And you think you have the right to do ANY of that? HUH?!"

"Lower your voice," said Yubaba, walking over to them as if she didn't have a very angry teenager ready to lunge at her. "You'll surely attract Minori's attention."

"SHUT UP!!!!!" Chihiro shrieked. "I'M NOT SOME LITTLE GIRL YOU CAN PLAY TRICKS ON!!!! YOU LURED MY FAMILY HERE AND THREATENED THEM!!!!! YOU MADE ME YOUR SLAVE AND TURNED MY PARENTS INTO PIGS!!!!! AND FOR WHAT?!?! BECAUSE THEY ATE SOME FOOD?!?! HOW DARE YOU—"

"Chihiro!" cried Haku, forcing her to sit back down. "Please calm down! Getting angry and yelling like this isn't going to make what happened disappear!"

"But she took away my choice!!" roared, Chihiro, trying to rush at Yubaba but Haku continued to restrain her. "Did I ask to be a gate guardian? Did I ask for all this shit to happen to my family? Did I ask for ANY of this?"

This went on for several minutes. Chihiro continued to struggle against Haku, who continued to restrain her despite his own feelings on the matter. And Yubaba stood a good distance away, watching Chihiro without saying a word.

Finally, after several minutes Chihiro ran out of steam and just collapsed in Haku's arms. Her throat was raw from screaming and she was out of breath and strength, but she mustered enough to glare daggers at Yubaba.

"Now that you're through," said Yubaba evenly. "I'll have my say." She strode right up to the pair and seated herself in front of them. "For starters, I didn't voluntarily choose you to be a guardian. That house you moved into is part of the gate; only a guardian can live there. Not just anyone can move into it. The previous owner died some time before you moved into it. You were chosen by fate, not by me. It was rather easy for you to move in, wasn't it?"

"How should I know?" Chihiro replied glumly. She was too tired to jump at Yubaba, but Haku had his arms locked tight around her anyways. "I was ten when we moved. I wasn't really interested in real estate."

"Nevertheless, the Ogino family was chosen to be candidates," said Yubaba. "But fate works differently than I do. Someone can be preordained to accept the position, but I also have a hand in it. I chose you, Sen, but fate had other things in mind."

"My parents."

"More specifically, your father."

Chihiro blinked at this and nearly burst out laughing. Her _father_, guardian of the Human World gate? Someone who couldn't ever remember where he left his car keys?

But as she thought about it, it made a lot of sense. Her father drove the car, taking the "short cut" leading them to the gate. He insisted on exploring the tunnel, insisted on exploring the other world, insisted on eating the food. He was a curious person at heart, but that was all done because it was a compulsion on him?

"Of course, I wasn't about to share my responsibility with some glutton," continued Yubaba.

"Don't talk about my dad that way!" snapped Chihiro, though she lost her will to fight. If her father became the guardian instead of her…she didn't want to think about it.

"Anyways, on the very day you moved into town your father was called to the gate to examine it, like I had. Of course, I had no idea the minute he entered he'd be stuffing his face like some pig—"

"Well, maybe _you_ should've been around to welcome us!!" Chihiro shot back. "Or sent someone to greet us!! You didn't tell anyone we were coming, much less us!!"

Yubaba shrugged. "Things happened as they did. And when you relinquished yourself from your contract you were ordained as the guardian of the human side of the gate, which you remain as today."

Chihiro closed her eyes and took a deep breath. All right, so Yubaba wasn't completely at fault. It didn't ease her anger any.

"Since Chihiro's a guardian," said Haku and Chihiro realized he was still holding her. "Does that mean she can pass into this world whenever she likes?" Despite his calm words she could feel his quick heartbeat against her back.

"No," said Yubaba. "Like we said before, there has to be balance in the worlds. This is a Spirit World; the very fact that Sen and her little brother are here right now is creating complications. It's the same as a spirit waltzing into the Human World. We can't have this sort of mingling or problems will arise. What do you think will happen if Minori managed to make it into the Human World?"

Chihiro shuddered, not wanting to think about it. But she hadn't considered the possibility of being able to come here whenever she wanted. That was impossible, too?

Yubaba stood up. "Come on, let's get going."

"Where?" asked Chihiro numbly.

"Where else? To the river gate!! I bet my sister and those river spirits are still there!!"

Chihiro had completely forgotten about them in light of the sudden revelation about herself. She let Haku pull her to her feet as they followed Yubaba back to the other gate. He remained oddly quiet and wore a grim expression.

Zeniba and the spirits were still there when they returned. Chihiro noted with fear the intense hostility on their faces when they caught sight of Yubaba.

_They're probably very angry about what she did to Haku_, she thought fearfully. She wasn't afraid for Yubaba; whatever the old woman got was what she deserved. But a huge fight would most definitely get Minori's attention.

"I see you've returned," said Zeniba, glancing warily at Shinano before turning to Chihiro. "I'm sorry—"

"Apologizing won't change what's been done," she said softly. "And crying over it won't change either. I'm a guardian and I'm going to have to deal with it."

Shinano didn't take his eyes off Yubaba. "I am Nigihayami Chikuma Nushi. You are Yubaba, correct?"

"I am," said Yubaba.

"Are you the one who enslaved my son?"

Yubaba shot a quick glance at Haku, but he was looking right at his father. "…Did he say as much?"

"Yes." Shinano took a menacing step towards her.

"Hold on!" cried Zeniba, placing herself between the irate river spirit and her sister. "Getting into a fight here will compromise both of our worlds!! Not to mention we're on the lookout for a demon!!"

"I don't care," said Shinano. "I want to hear from her own lips what she did to my child."

Yubaba looked back at him grimly. Chihiro gripped Haku's hand tightly, feeling very afraid. If this escalated out of control…

"If you want to know," said Yubaba slowly. "Then yes, I did enslave Haku. He was homeless and amnesiac and it was easy to take him under my wing. He served me faithfully for many years before he tore up his contract."

Shinano said nothing for long time, but his eyes held murder in them.

"I thought my son was dead," he said in an eerily cold voice. "I thought I had lost him forever. And yet he was alive here, in slavery under you?"

"…Yes," said Yubaba reluctantly.

Shinano reached for her.

"_Father_," said Haku forcefully. Everyone turned his or her heads to gawk at him. It was the first time they'd heard him say 'father'. "Attacking her won't change what's been done. The important thing is that you know I'm alive, isn't it?"

Shinano stared at him for several long moments before he dropped his arm. "Of course. You have no idea how happy I am to see you alive…"

Chihiro let out a sigh of relief. That crisis had been adverted…for now. Shinano's rage towards Yubaba reminded her of her own rage not too long ago. Yubaba obviously didn't have many friends at the moment.

"Anyways," said Zeniba. "As I was telling you earlier, we're prepping for an attack tomorrow. We're taking back the bathhouse, remerging Haku, and getting rid of Minori. Are you sure about your position?"

"Of course he is," said Ishikari hotly.

"What position?" asked Chihiro.

Zeniba gave them a quick glance before she answered. "They won't be helping us."

"What?" snapped Haku. "Why not?"

"We're not part of this world," said Tone, shrugging her shoulders. "We can't get involved in the affairs here."

"Not even if it's _my_ spirit that needs repairing?!"

"Kohaku—"

"You people are suppose to be my family and yet you're not even going to assist me in this?!"

"We have no choice," repeated Tone. "If we get involved it'll disrupt the already fragile order here. The fact that all of us are standing here right now is disrupting the balance!!"

Haku glanced at Shinano. "I want to hear this from you. Are you going to help me or not?"

"I will assist you as much as I can," said Shinano. "But as far as getting completely involved, that's not a possibility."

Haku was silent from several moments before he let go of Chihiro's hand. "I see I wasted my time looking for you. You're abandoning me to fate yet again."

"Kohaku, that's not—"

But Haku stormed away without looking back.

"Kohaku, wait!!" cried Tomoko. She started to run after her brother, but Shinano caught her arm. "Let me go, Father!! I want to help Kohaku!!"

"I do too," Shinano replied sullenly. "But we can't get involved. There's too much at stake if we do."

Chihiro shrugged her shoulders. She saw the point they were making, but it upset her how easily they gave up. "This world is already muddled. Who's to say a little more chaos will affect anything?"

Before he could muster a reply Chihiro continued. "But it really was a pleasure meeting you and I'm glad Haku does have a family. He hasn't had one all this time." She bowed quickly and hurried off, leaving them to think about her words.

_Great, our roles are reversed,_ she thought. Just a little while ago she's run off and he chased. Now she was chasing him. _What a pair we make._

That particular thought made her blush, and she pushed it out of her mind.

It didn't take too long to find Haku. He was sitting on a log in the outskirts of the forest, facing Zeniba's house. She walked over and sat down next to him. "We could probably managed Minori and your other half by ourselves. That was the original plan, anyways."

"I know," said Haku, his head bent. "But they aren't even trying to help me."

"I understand their point, though. Our worlds are too complicated. I mean, even my being a guardian doesn't give me a special privilege here. I'm still prohibited from coming and going as I please."

He said nothing to that.

"Tonight's been a rough night for all of us. I'm ready to go to bed and forget any of this happened. But then Minori would still be around to annoy us."

Haku choked on a laugh, but still said nothing.

"Hey." Chihiro gave him a nudge. "You have three guardians at your side. We'll get through this, okay?"

Haku managed a nod before he turned to look at her. "Thanks, Chihiro. You really are a good friend."

"Right now I'm holding onto my self-control as best as I can. I'm still not adjusted to the idea of being a guardian. But tomorrow is going to be very busy and we have to make sure everything gets done tomorrow or we might not have another chance. Are you ready?"

"…Yes. Family or not I'll get my other half back and return to my world. And we'll get your gate under control and save Sei."

Chihiro swallowed a lump in her throat. "Everything ends tomorrow…let's just hope it ends in our favor."


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

"All right, does everyone get the plan?" asked Zeniba. "While we stage the attack, you three." She motioned to Chihiro, No-Face, and Boh. "Sneak in. Got it?"

The sun had risen just hours ago, but they all stood in the clearing leading up to the swamp's train station. The bathhouse loomed in the distance and each of them looked towards it with derision. It was time. Time to take back the bathhouse, get rid of Minori, and put Haku back together.

"There's still the matter of getting into Kamaji's boiler room undetected," said Chihiro, rubbing at her eyes. "The passage to it is in the garden. And the garden is within…the bathhouse's walls." Getting only four hours of sleep after a tumulus night didn't exactly do wonders for her. She was just glad she didn't have to physically fight.

"I'll take you," said Haku. Any vestige of last night's events was invisible on his face. He seemed very set on their task. "I can fly Boh and you around the low perimeter and drop you off at Kamaji's door."

"What about the fight?" butt in Yubaba.

"You can start it without me," said Haku coldly. "This should only take me a few minutes."

"Sounds like a plan," said Zeniba. "We can only hope our combined powers can put a stop to Minori." She turned to No-Face. "Try to find those contracts as quickly as possible. Minori should be distracted enough by the invasion to not notice."

No-Face nodded his head, grunting eagerly.

"And what of the contracts after we regain control?" asked Haku.

"Destroy them," said Chihiro.

"Give them to me," said Yubaba at the same time.

Chihiro and Haku glared at her. Yubaba threw her hands up in the air angrily and unapologetically. "What?! They're MY contracts and MY employees!!"

"You mean _slaves_," sneered Haku.

"Employees get paid!!" added Chihiro.

"You—" growled Yubaba.

"Let's settle this later," interrupted Zeniba, waving a hand impatiently. "Right now we have a more pressing matter at hand."

Everyone grumbled their agreements and quickly got ready. Chihiro tied her hair in its usual ponytail with her special hair tie. Though it was warm weather she wrapped her sweater tightly around her. Zeniba had graciously lent her thread to sew up the tears Yubaba had made in it.

_I'm coming for you, Sei, _she thought to her little brother. _Please be all right…_

Yubaba and Zeniba transformed into their bird forms. Boh got a little teary-eyed at seeing his mother, but kept his composure. Haku remained in his human form for the time being.

"We're off!!" announced Yubaba as they lifted up into the air.

"The best of luck to you all!!" added Zeniba as they took off flying for the bathhouse.

No-Face watched them depart before bowing to Chihiro, grunting a little. Chihiro bowed to him as well. "Good luck, No-Face."

He nodded and disappeared into thin air.

"Let's go, too," said Haku. He transformed into his dragon form and motioned for Chihiro to climb onto his back. She complied, but he stopped Boh from following suit.

"_Don't leave me behind!!!!_" he wailed. All of a sudden he was crying hysterically and stomping his feet.

Haku growled a little in annoyance and took off into the air.

"Ha—" began Chihiro, but Haku circled back to where Boh was having a temper tantrum. As he flew past his talons latched around a beefy outstretched arm and took off back into the air.

"Whee!!" cried Boh, his tears quickly drying up. "This is fun!!"

Haku was sagging under the excess weight, but he still flew as quickly as he could and didn't show signs of complaints.

_It's too bad his family won't help us, _she thought grimly. _It would've made a lot of difference._

She didn't like thinking about last night, but it still came back to her. She was the guardian of the Human World gate, along with Yubaba. She still wasn't quite sure how to deal with it, but she also knew she didn't have time to; no matter what her situation was, her world needed defending. And she would do anything to keep Minori out of it.

She looked down at Haku, wondering how he was feeling. He'd woken up this morning as if last night hadn't happened, but everything going on had to be stressful for him.

"Haku," she said softly. She released one of his horns to stroke the back of his head. "It's going to be a hard day. But I believe in you and I believe in our plan. Everything will work out; you'll be whole again and I'll have my little brother again. I don't like the idea of sending my friends back into enslavement under Yubaba, but we can get around that too. Don't you think?"

Haku couldn't say anything to her in his dragon form, but she could feel the tension ease from his body just a little bit.

"We're almost there!!" cried Boh, waving his free arm wildly. This caused all of the to shake violently, but Haku was able to keep upright.

"I don't see them," said Chihiro warily when they were about twenty feet away. Indeed, there was no sign of the twin sisters and the bathhouse was progressing as usual. She could feel the somber aura that had irked her when she'd first arrived there days before. Hopefully that would be gone by the end of the day.

Haku circled under the bridge towards the boiler room door. Chihiro looked around, but it didn't seem like anyone noticed them. She didn't like the silence, though. When the door came into view she was more than a little relieved.

Their feet had barely touched the ground and Haku changed back when it happened: a loud explosion. The entire building shook violently and Chihiro and Boh lost their balance and fell to the ground. Haku remained standing somehow, and he looked up at the bathhouse with a sullen expression. "It looks like they started."

"Do you see them?!" cried Chihiro frantically, her head turning this way and that. The gravity of the situation was starting to settle with her; it wasn't just some battle of the wits like when she was ten. The fighting was life and death and brutal and since someone like Minori was involved, any one of them could easily die. There was another loud explosion and woodchips and debris fell past them to the ground way below. Chihiro looked up to see a gaping hole in the building above, but she didn't see Minori or Yubaba and Zeniba.

"Mama!!!" cried Boh. Everything seemed to click for him too and he was suddenly very terrified.

"I have to help," said Haku. He looked down at Chihiro. "Get inside!! Make sure to stick to the plan!!"

Chihiro nodded; her throat had closed off and she couldn't make a sound. She stood up and walked over to Boh, though she felt incredibly dizzy. Boh was curled up in a fetal position on the ground, crying and calling for Yubaba. "…Boh." She forced the words out. "It's time to go."

He hadn't jumped into mass hysteria and despite his tears pulled himself to his feet and hurried towards the boiler room door. Chihiro turned to face Haku, who was staring right at her. Tears blurred her vision, but she blinked them away and ordered herself not to cry.

"Be careful, Haku." _Don't die, don't die, please don't die…_

Haku slowly nodded and turned around. Chihiro knew he was about to transform into the dragon. But for some reason he hesitated. It made her confused…and a little scared. "Haku?"

Instead of taking off, Haku turned back around quickly. He walked right up to her. Before she could even wonder what she was doing he cupped both his hands on her cheeks and was kissing her so hard she couldn't think or act. All she could do was stand there and stare at him.

He broke the kiss and looked straight into her eyes. "I want you to know that no matter what happens today, meeting you was the best thing that has ever happened to me. You're my greatest, truest friend, Chihiro, and I love you."

_I love you._ Those words echoed a million times in a matter of seconds throughout her mind. She was stunned beyond words, beyond thought.

Haku managed a very small, sad smile and reluctantly let her go. "Be careful." He turned back around and before she could blink he transformed into the dragon and was off flying.

Chihiro watched him fly around the bathhouse corner and out of sight. Her mouth was hanging open and she raised a shaking hand to her lips. She had very little experience with confessions, but never had she had one so upfront…and meaningful.

"Haku…" she murmured softly, though he obviously couldn't hear her. "Haku…I…"

Another explosion rocked the bathhouse.

"Sen, come on!!" cried Boh from the door.

Chihiro snapped out of her stupor and ran for the boiler room door. Even in her current state of shock a single thought entered her mind: _He didn't stick around long enough to hear my answer…_

--

As she expected, the boiler room was in chaos. Kamaji was trying and failing to issue order to the soot balls, which were hopping up and down and squeaking in panic. When he caught sight of them running over, he literally fell off his perch and upon the soot balls.

"Sen!!!" he cried from underneath the soot balls, which were now bouncing all over him. "What happened?! When did you get here?! What's going on?!"

"No time to explain!!" cried Chihiro. "Yubaba and Zeniba have arrived, along with Haku!! They're fighting Minori now!!"

Kamaji climbed back onto his perch, wiping away the soot covering his clothes. More soot balls produced from the excess dust. "So it's finally come to that, eh? We were worried, you know. After we sent you on your way we saw not a hair of you again. Rin was out of her mind with worry and grief, so sure she'd sent you to your death…"

Chihiro ducked her head, feeling guilty. She'd forgotten how they'd helped her when she'd arrived and how worried they must've been when she left to confront Minori. "But I'm here now and soon everything will be back to normal around here. Can you do me a favor?"

"Sure, anything."

"We need to evacuate the bathhouse. Minori is currently fighting Yubaba and Zeniba, and I don't want anyone to get caught in the crossfire. Can we hold them here?"

Kamaji shrugged his shoulders. "Be my guest. It's not like any work will be done today, anyways."

"Thank you so much!!" Chihiro bowed before turning to Boh. "Boh, I'm going up the employees entrance. You told me you know some secret passages here, right?"

"Yep!!" said Boh, nodding his head.

"Can you try to get people down them?"

"Okay!! Let's get going!!" He ran for the door and shoved it open so hard it dislodged from the wall. He tried to crawl through, but got stuck. "Help, Sen!!"

Chihiro sighed heavily. "I'll see you in a little bit, Kamaji."

It took five minutes to dislodge Boh, and it included knocking down some of the wall. But Chihiro and him got through and went their separate ways. She watched him wobble away uneasily; silently praying she wasn't sending him off to his death.

She ran into her first big obstacle quickly when she found that the service elevator wasn't working. Dismally she realized if this elevator wasn't working _none _of them were. And she didn't know any other way up to Minori's offices where Sei was no doubt being kept.

_I will save him, I WILL_!! she fumed to herself as she took the stairs.

--

The bathing area of the bathhouse was in utter chaos. Most everyone was screaming his or her heads off, guest and employee alike and running all over the place in random directions. The only ones unfazed by this were the chick spirits who as usual were using the baths as if nothing was wrong.

Chihiro saw a few guests with obviously evil auras shoving bottles of soap and ointment into their pockets before disappearing into the growing panic. Several guests were just running for the main entrance with fistfuls of their own clothes, screaming.

The employees seemed at a complete loss what to do. Chihiro knew their contracts stipulated they couldn't leave the grounds of the bathhouse or they would die. They couldn't leave and they obviously couldn't stay. It seemed like a no-win situation. One of the girls fell to her knees and started sobbing hysterically.

A familiar face caught Chihiro's eye. She quickly ran after it. "Rin!!"

Rin quickly spun around, her face ghastly pale. But her eyes lit up immediately. "Sen!!" She enveloped Chihiro in a tight hug. "You're all right!! I thought Minori killed you!!"

Chihiro pulled away slightly. As much as she liked reunions, she didn't have time for this. "We don't have time!! Quickly Rin, we have to gather up everyone and get them down into the boiler room!! Yubaba, Zeniba, and Haku are fighting Minori right now!!"

"So that's what all those explosions were?" asked Rin, glancing around. She registered Chihiro's words. "Why down in the boiler room?"

"We can't get you out of here until we get the contracts!! At least in the boiler room you won't be affected by the fight!!"

Rin quickly nodded. "Sounds like a plan!! Let's get moving!!"

It took a long time to get through the hysteria and tell people to evacuate into the boiler room. It took even longer to get the chick spirits out of the tubs, and since they didn't seem inclined on leaving was forced down into the boiler room as well. A few of them recognized Chihiro faintly, but she brushed it off and herded them towards the stairs. It was tiring and she was hoping Boh was having a little more luck than her.

"I think we've got everyone," said Rin, wiping the sweat off her forehead. "Let's get going too."

"No," said Chihiro. "I have to see if I can make it to the top floor and save Sei."

"I'm coming with you this time. I'll be damned if I let you go alone again."

Chihiro knew there was no convincing her friend otherwise, so the pair of them headed for the elevators. They tried out each and every one, but as Chihiro feared none of them was working. She climbed a long staircase to get to the upper area to see if she could make it to the main elevator to the top floor. Though the elevator was ground, it wasn't working. She punched the door and the buttons a few times, screaming in frustration.

Rin clamped a hand over her mouth. "Shh!! You'll draw unwanted attention to us!!"

Chihiro freed herself. "Is there any stairs—"

"Only this elevator takes us to the top floor; no stairs. There's nothing we can do now, let's go down to the boiler room and hope Minori gets her ass kicked."

Chihiro felt less than hopeful as Rin dragged her back downstairs. How was she supposed to save her brother if she couldn't reach him?

Boh had already returned to the boiler room when they arrived. It was completely overcrowded with people, each of who were talking rather loudly. As usual the chick spirits seemed the most at home and curled up in a corner of the room.

Since the door was broken and there was a hole in the wall, people were stuffing extra articles of clothing to clog both with. But it was a difficult task with all the bodies packed in together.

"Be quiet!!!" roared Kamaji over the conversations. "Do you want to draw attention to ourselves, to alert Minori of where you all are?! We're in the middle of a battlefield, act like it!!"

This shut everyone up. Very slowly all the bodies moved to sit down where there was room. No one dared to talk now.

Chihiro and Rin stepped over the bodies to get to Kamaji, whom had the most space on top of his perch. Well, other than Boh who had plenty of space no one was going to argue about. "Good job, Boh."

Boh gave her a wide, happy smile. "Thanks, Sen!!"

Kamaji looked down at her as she took a seat. "Everyone is here now. What happens next?"

"Now we wait," she answered, drawing her knees up to her chin.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

They sat in complete silence. It was easy to be quiet with how terrified everyone was. The only things that disrupted the silence were the occasional explosions that shook the bathhouse at its foundation.

Chihiro rocked back and forth, chewing on her lower lip and trying not to think. Of course, she failed at this.

_Please don't let the bathhouse collapse on us, _she prayed. _Please don't let Sei be hurt. Please don't let Haku and the other die…_

This went on for a very long time, maybe hours. Though Chihiro was worried, she found herself a little preoccupied with Boh.

"I hope Mama and Auntie are all right," he whimpered, his eyes filled with tears. Large drops leaked out with each explosion.

"Now, now," soothed Chihiro, patting his arm. "How about I tell you a story?"

Boh nodded eagerly. "Okay!! Tell me a really good one!!"

Before Chihiro could start, she realized she didn't really know any stories. It'd been a while since she really read anything other than a textbook or manga.

_Wait, wasn't my Folklore homework on critiquing an old tale? What did I write about?_

"I don't know if you've heard of it," said Chihiro. "But it's called 'The Lucky Teakettle of Morinji'."

Rin flinched.

"And the story goes that there was a monk of the Temple Morinji whom loved tea as much as he loved to meditate and study. So when he went into a shop and found an old teakettle, he couldn't resist buying it. He paid three rin for it and took it back to the temple with him. But he soon realized this was no ordinary teakettle he took home. Once he went to bed the teakettle changed into a tanuki. The other monks were frightened of the tanuki-teakettle, fearing it was a curse from the heavens. So they—"

"Shh, listen," interrupted Kamaji.

Chihiro did. After hours of nonstop fighting it had become quiet. No more explosions, no more yelling, just silence.

After several minutes, the chatter started up again. Everyone was wondering what happened, mainly Chihiro.

"Do you think it's safe now?" said Rin very quietly. She looked paler than before and her hands were shaking.

"I don't know," said Chihiro, looking around. She didn't see No-Face anywhere. Did he get caught, too?

She jumped to her feet. "I'm gonna go see what's going on!"

Rin got to her feet as well. "I'll go with you."

"Me too!" cried Boh, struggling to his feet.

But Chihiro shook her head. "If there's a whole group of us we'll draw a lot of attention. I'll go by myself."

"But I wanna see Mama!!" whined Boh, waving his chubby arms and stomping his feet.

"Boh, it's very dangerous!!" cried Chihiro, almost losing her balance from the sheer force of his stomps. "For Granny's sake, please stay put!!"

"Just go on ahead," said Kamaji. He reached out with his many arms and grabbed hold of Boh. "I'll keep an eye on him."

"Thanks, Kamaji!!" Chihiro turned to everyone else. "Everyone, please stay here until I come back!!"

Everyone murmured their acknowledgement. Except for Rin, who was staring down at her hands. Chihiro was a little worried about her, but she didn't have time to question her. She pulled back some of the cloth covering the holes and went through.

The lower area of the bathhouse didn't look too bad. It raised Chihiro's hopes as she ran for the stairs. She wasn't going to risk the elevator.

_At least I know the bathhouse didn't collapse on us, _she thought as she started climbing. _But then there's what the upstairs looks like…_

She got her answer quickly. The door leading up to the ground floor was stuck. She had to give it a few kicks before it finally opened. What she saw horrified her.

The entire main area of the bathhouse was in shambles. Dividers had been knocked down or completely destroyed, bathtubs were cracked or also entirely broken, and gigantic hole littered the walls. Giant pieces of debris covered the floor, some Chihiro identified ad parts of the balcony above and the ceiling.

But what she found under a broken beam shocked her most. A little curious, she went over to investigate. A wrinkled hand was sticking out. Broken rings on the fingers…

"_Granny!!!!!_" Chihiro shoved at the heavy beam as hard as she could. It barely budged. "Granny!! Are you all right?!?!"

"That's enough of that, Chihiro-_san_," said a cool voice.

Chihiro quickly turned her head, but she didn't see anyone.

"Up here, sweetie."

She looked up. High above her, Minori stood on the rail of the bridge, though it looked about ready to collapse.

And Sei was tucked under her arm.

"Sei!!!!" she screamed. She looked around for the stairs.

"I'd suggest you stay right where you are," said Minori. "Or I might lose my grip on your little brother."

Chihiro stayed put, though she glared at Minori. "What did you do to Granny?!"

"I was only defending myself. There I was, just relaxing before starting my day and I get ambushed. Not very nice, don't you think?" She tossed her hair off her shoulder. "Of course, the sisters weren't any match for me. This one—and don't ask me which is which, both are equally hideous—ended up rather lucky. I dropped the other one in the path of the train."

Chihiro pressed her hands over her mouth. In front of a train?! Could a spirit survive something like that?!

"Anyways," Minori continued. "I have two questions for you."

"You want the key to the Human World gate," Chihiro grumbled.

"I see you've stopped playing dumb, Guardian. Yes, I want that. But I also want my contracts."

"Contracts?" So No-Face got away after all.

"The contracts for my workers. When I disposed of the sisters and went up to get Sei, I noticed they were gone. Oh, except this one." She pulled it out of her belt. "I made sure to keep your brother's contract on me at all times."

_Shit. _"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Of course you do. This whole coup you tried to pull was a rescue mission. I knew you would end up in my grasp anyways, but I need those contracts to dispose of my workers before I leave for the Human World."

"You're gonna kill _all of them?!_"

Minori shrugged. "My plan was to kill everyone associated with this gate so no one would come after me in the Human World."

Chihiro felt her jaw drop. "So you were planning on killing me anyways!!"

"It's not like I made you any promises."

"Yes, you did!! You said if I handed over the key you'd let Sei and me go!!"

"Did I now?" she thought about it for a moment. "Maybe I did. Whoops. But you should never bargain with a demon."

"I didn't bargain with you and I _never _will!!"

"So you have no intention of handing over the key then?"

"No!!!" in all honesties, Chihiro still hadn't figured out what this 'key' was. It obviously linked her to the Spirit World, but it could be just about anything.

"All right then." She took Sei from under her arm and held him out by his shirt. He hung limp in her grip like a doll. "I'll drop him right here and now."

"You were planning on killing us, anyways!!" but Chihiro still felt fearful. Minori just might kill Sei and then she wouldn't be able to help him.

Minori waved an arm. "I just might let him go home. Just hand over the key and you'll get him back."

Chihiro had to think fast. What was the key anyways? It didn't really matter; Sei was going to die if she didn't think fast.

Quickly, she rummaged through her pockets. By reflex she pulled out her wallet.

"Is that it?" asked Minori impatiently.

"No, but it's in here!!" said Chihiro quickly, silently praying there _was _something in there she could cop out. She opened it up and sorted through the coins to see what she could find. She didn't know if Minori would believe Human coins were the key…

Then she found it. A prize token she'd kept from her trip to an amusement park with her friends the month before. It was gold and plastic, but it would have to do.

"Here!!" she cried, holding it up for Minori to see. "Here's your damn key!!"

Quick as lightning the token flew out of Chihiro's hand and sailed up to Minori. It stopped in front of her and she took hold of it in her free hand. She looked at it closely, frowning a little bit. Chihiro started getting worried.

But then Minori smiled in a way that made her shudder. "Is it a surprise to anyone that the crone gave you a key resembling money?"

Chihiro sighed in relief.

"Here, you can have your brother now." And just like that she let Sei go and he was falling.

"NO!!!!!!! SEI!!!!!!!!" screamed Chihiro, running towards him. It was futile, but something in her told her to catch him…

But Sei fell no more than two feet before he came to an abrupt stop. Both Chihiro and Minori looked on with shocked expressions as Sei's unconscious body moved through the air slowly, alongside the length of the bridge towards the wall. Once he reached the wall he moved down towards the floor slowly. Chihiro ran as fast as she could towards him, not willing to allow him to fall into Minori's grasp again. When she got close enough he fell right into her arms.

"Sei!!!" She sat down on the floor with Sei in her lap. He wasn't wearing a frozen expression anymore. He almost looked asleep. She tapped his face. "Oh God, please wake up!!"

He groaned, and something uncoiled within Chihiro. It was the most responsive answer she had gotten from him since entering the Spirit World. She hugged him tightly. "You're gonna be all right, you're gonna be all right…"

She heard soft grunting above her and she looked up. No-Face stood above her, motioning to Sei. She realized he had caught him while invisible and put him down on the floor.

"You saved him," she said, wiping away tears. "Thank you so much…"

No-Face grunted and nodded. Chihiro noticed that he had several rolls of paper tucked under his arm. "You…you still have those?"

"Ah!!" Suddenly, Minori was very close by. "So YOU'RE the one who stole my contracts!!"

"No-Face, RUN!!!!!!" screamed Chihiro.

No-Face grunted fearfully a few times and disappeared.

"Oh, don't think you can hide from me!!!" roared Minori. "You're dealing with a demon here!!" she glared at Chihiro. "I don't have time to deal with you, so I'll have Haku kill you. I'll say hello to you parents for you. Haku!!" she took off running. "Kill this girl!!!"

Chihiro heard several roars outside and the building shook again. Through one of the giant holes in the wall she saw a dragon fly by, followed quickly by another. Haku was still fighting with himself.

She was at a complete loss what to do. Minori was now distracted by No-Face and the false key. But No-Face was now in trouble, Haku was obviously in trouble, Sei needed to be taken care of, and the sisters were in the worst shape. One of them was possibly dead.

Where the hell did she start?

"I wish I had an army," she said absently, looking down at her brother. She was startled to find his eyes halfway open and he looked dazed and confused.

"Chihiro?" he asked wearily. He struggled a little in her arms. "What happened? Where's the dragon?"

Chihiro choked on a sob and hugged Sei tighter. "The dragon's fine, Sei…"

"C'mon, let me go. I don't like hugs…" He blinked several times. "My tummy hurts…"

Chihiro conceded and let him go. She ruffled his hair. "You'll be all right, buddy." _As soon as I can get your contract away from Minori…_

Sei looked at their surroundings. "Are we in a video game?"

"Um…" Chihiro didn't know how to explain the situation to Sei. No doubt anything she said he would believe. But then again, if he blabbed who would believe him? "Yeah. Sorta…"

"Sen!!!!" came an excited cry.

"Huh?" both Chihiro and Sei said that at once. It almost made her laugh. But seeing Rin running towards her stopped that. "Rin?! I told you guys to stay below!!!"

"I know, but you're not going to believe this!!" Rin grabbed her hands in a very tight grip. "I remember my name!!!"

"What?!" Sei toppled over at Chihiro's sudden lunge into Rin's arms. "That's wonderful!!!!! What made you remember?!"

"Oddly enough, your story!!" Rin pulled back and wiped away tears. But her eyes were still shining. "I didn't know why, but hearing it made me feel funny. And the more I thought about it, the funnier I felt. And then it hit me; my name!! My name was in the story!!!"

Chihiro's jaw dropped. "Are you saying your name's _Morinji_?!"

Rin nodded. "That's exactly it!!"

Chihiro rubbed her forehead with the back of her hand. "Wow. That's unbelievable."

"Not as unbelievable as this; when I found out my name I started bragging about it to everyone. And then suddenly everyone else started remembering their names!! Little words or even the revelations really worked wonders!!!"

It really was unbelievable. But sure enough, the bathhouse workers were running into the main, cheering and crying, not really noticing the destruction around them.

"Hakan!!"

"Naotatsu!!"

"Yukami!!"

"Shinshuu!!"

Everyone was proudly shouting their names. Chihiro saw Kamaji crawl over and hurried over to him. "Isn't this wonderful, Kamaji?!"

"Yes, it is," said Kamaji, looking around. "Although when Yubaba returns she might not be happy."

Chihiro remembered the body buried under the beam and ran over to it. She still didn't know which sister it was, but it didn't matter at the moment. "Hurry, someone help me out here!!"

Several of the workers, Rin and Kamaji included, helped her pull the beam off and knock away some debris. Chihiro rushed to her side and looked for any signs of movement.

"That's Yubaba, all right," said Kamaji grimly.

Chihiro felt her stomach churn. If this was Yubaba, then it must've been Zeniba Minori dropped in front of the train.

_Oh no…_She clenched her teeth to fight back the tears. There was nothing she could do for Zeniba at the moment.

"We'll take care of her," said one of the men Chihiro recognized as the foreman. Several of the workers gathered Yubaba up and started to carry her off.

"You look funny," said Sei directly to Kamaji. "Are those arms real?"

"That's rude!!" hissed Chihiro, smacking his shoulder.

"They certainly are," said Kamaji, flexing the muscles on all his arms.

"Did you remember your name, Kamaji?" asked Rin, though she was watching them carry off Yubaba.

"Yubaba never took away my name," he said simply. "I'm just a worker."

"WHAT?!?!" Rin stared at him incredulously. "You worked for her _willingly_?!"

Kamaji shrugged. "There isn't much else for a spirit like me to do. She was kind enough to give me a job at her bathhouse."

"But…" Chihiro glanced at him. "But I remember. You said you were a slave to the boiler."

"That's because it's tiring and monotonous work. Why do you think I have more freedoms than the other workers? Besides, my soot balls take care of the more strenuous labors."

"Oh…that's why you were never afraid to cross her. Like with taking care of Haku. And you got Haku a job here."

"MAMA!!!!!"

They all jumped when they heard the cry. Sure enough, Boh had followed everyone else upstairs and had gotten a good look at Yubaba.

"MAMA!!!!!!" he shrieked with growing volume. He ran towards her as fast as he could. "MAMA!!!!! MAMA!!!!!!"

"This might draw attention to us," said Kamaji fearfully.

"I still have to figure out what—" said Chihiro.

She didn't get to finish. One of the walls exploded suddenly. She jerked around and saw a dragon flying right at her. She didn't have time to wonder which Haku it was when it rammed her, head butting her right in her front.

"SEN!!!!!!!!" screamed Rin and Kamaji.

"CHIHIRO!!!!!!!!" screamed Sei.

Chihiro heard an ominous crack as shock overcame her. The dragon continued on its way, flying across the room with Chihiro's body hanging limp over it face, and carried her outside through one of the holes.

_The Teakettle of Morinji _is a real Japanese folklore. I did an awful job describing it here, but it's a very interesting story.


	15. Chapter 15

Sorry for the wait!!

Chapter 15

The shock of the sudden blow shook Chihiro completely. As she slumped over the dragon's face, she didn't even think to grab his horns. Even with her eyes wide open, she could see nothing but a white haze of pain. She wasn't even aware she was outside until Haku(?) shifted his head and let her fall.

The only thing she could think of was _'Why is he so far away?'_ as she fell to the distant ground. But she only fell a couple of feet before her body gave a lurch and she stopped falling.

_Huh?_ If her brain was a little clearer she'd probably be panicking. But she only looked up with dazed confusion at the dragon that caught her. The back of her dress was clenched in its teeth as it quickly flew over the bathhouse. Very gently he deposited her on top of the highest roof and flew back down to engage the dragon that attacked her.

Without really thinking about it she sprawled on her back and looked up at the sky. Going into shock was a strange feeling for her; she'd never done it before but it was oddly…smoothing.

But she didn't have long to wait for it to subside. As she admired the pretty shapes the clouds made, her brain finally got back online and something else had her attention: pain. The pain in her torso was strong, even stronger than when Haku struck her with his tail.

Her eyes filled with tears and she curled into a fetal position, her hand tentatively nursing her ribs. She remembered the crack she heard when Haku head-butted her and she realized with dread her ribs were broken. Obviously it could be treated easily here, but Yubaba was out of commission and Zeniba was probably dead. She didn't know how she was going to help anyone; she couldn't even manage to sit up.

The bathhouse gave another violent shake and Chihiro found herself sliding off the roof. Feebly she tried to clutch at the shingles to halt herself, but unfortunately they were smooth and not graspable. Such actions made her ribs hurt even more, but she tried to push that thought aside as she tried to save herself.

As she went over the edge, she saw Yubaba's balcony just beneath her and couldn't hide tears of relief as she fell directly upon it. But it didn't spare her anymore pain, though. She suspected Haku placed her up there in that spot in case she did fall off again.

Nursing her ribs again, Chihiro leaned against the rail and watched the grim battle between the two Hakus. Neither was holding back; even though they were the same person they were both gearing to win. Both looked equally injured and Chihiro couldn't tell them apart. She didn't know who to cheer on.

The dragons fought for a very long time, both slamming each other into the bathhouse every so often. Chihiro braced herself against the rail of the balcony, trying to think past the pain radiating from her ribs.

_I don't know what to do,_ she thought mournfully, wincing as the dragons once again slammed into the bathhouse. _What can I do?_

Finally, after nonstop fighting it seemed to stop. Once of the dragons slammed the other into the side of the bathhouse mere feet from Chihiro. It seemed to have done the dragon in because it began to fall. But the attacking dragon had obviously reached its limit too and began to fall.

"_Haku!!!_" screamed Chihiro. She grabbed the rail with her free hand and pulled herself up. She forced herself to look over the edge.

She saw only one dragon falling. One, not two. The one that fell first was gone.

"Haku?!" she called tearfully. Gripping the rail she pulled herself alongside it, searching out both dragons. She prayed the one that was falling would recover. All that would greet it would be the hard ground below and that would surely kill it. "HAKU!!!!"

As she got to the end of the rail, she ducked her head and forced her breathing under control. God, the pain hurt so much!!!

She was so distracted by the pain in her side she wasn't aware of the danger. A hand shot out from the other side of the rail and locked around her throat in a vise grip. Then before she could react she was slammed hard into the wall. She choked, tears spilling out of her eyes from the pain.

"Why won't you just die?" asked Haku quietly. Chihiro didn't need to look at his black robes to tell it was the fragment. He pinned her so high on the wall her feet were dangling inches from the floor. "What else needs to be done to you before you finally quit?"

Chihiro gurgled, feebly squeezing her fingers around his wrist to loosen his grip. She tried bringing her legs up to kick him but they could seem to do anything but twitch.

"What is with you?!" he snapped, tightening his hand around her throat. "I don't understand it!!"

Before Chihiro could lose consciousness something rammed Haku so hard it sent them both sprawling. She coughed as hard as she could, nursing her neck while trying to get in as many deep breaths as she could. She scrubbed at her eyes as she turned her head to see what was happening.

The friendly Haku had recovered long enough to fly up and save her again. Now the two Hakus, in their human forms, were grappling on the balcony floor. Chihiro tried to crawl over to them but the pain resonating throughout her body was now too severe; she couldn't move.

The two continued to fight for several minutes, but then the bad Haku got the upper hand. He repeatedly punched the other in the face until his blows sent him flying over the rail.

"Ha—" before Chihiro could react to this, the other Haku pinned her to the floor of the balcony.

"Why do you keep interfering, human?" he growled, pinning her arms above her head. "Do you want to die so badly?"

"No!!" screamed Chihiro. "I don't wanna die!! But I won't just stand back while the people I love are hurt!!"

"You—"

"And how dare you demand my reasons?! You came into MY world, assaulted me, and kidnapped my brother!! You wanna know why I'm involved?! If you hadn't come after me I wouldn't even be here!!!"

Haku shook his head. "I don't know how you became a Guardian."

"It's not like I asked for it, Haku!! Just the same as you didn't ask for your river to be destroyed!!"

"This isn't about me!!"

"Haku…" Chihiro tried to keep her voice calm despite the pain resonating throughout her body. She was also fearful; Haku or not this side of him was gearing to kill her. "Please try to understand."

Understand what?! Your stupid reasons?!"

"I love you, Haku," she choked out. Haku stiffened. "I want to help you so much. I'll do anything to help you. So please—"

Haku snorted. "You're just trying to save yourself."

"I'm _serious_!! I—love—you!!" Her heart was pounding like crazy and tears were streaming down her cheeks. "You're the greatest friend I've ever had!! You saved my life when I was little!! And you helped me so much when I first came here!! I know how to help you, just let me!!!"

Haku lowered his head. Chihiro glanced about her, praying that the other Haku or _any _ally showed up to help.

"…You wanna help me? And what if I don't want your help?" He lifted his head and glared at her. "I'm perfectly content with how things are now. I'm the stronger half of me, as you saw. And even if I'm at Minori-_sama_'s beck and call, why should I care what happens to either world? The humans destroyed me, I was caught in a tug-of-war between those sisters, and everyone _here _treated me like an outsider!! Should I care about whatever she has planned? Because, really, I don't."

"Haku…what about me? What about my family? We didn't destroy you. I didn't torment you when I came here. And yet you've _hurt _me, many times. Is it because Minori wants you to? I told you I can help you and I know how to."

"By reuniting me with myself? No thank you."

"If I don't, you'll stay bitter and angry like this forever."

"But still more powerful."

Chihiro started losing her patience. "What's wrong with you?! You're completely unreasonable!! The Haku I know isn't like this!! He's the greatest friend I ever had!! He loves me and I love him!! I told you I would help you and I will!! Why won't you just listen to me?!"

Haku stared blankly down at her for a few moments. But before they could say anything they were interrupted.

"Well, well. You certainly look friendly here."

"It's not like that, Minori-_sama_," said Haku. "I was holding her down so she couldn't run away."

Minori stepped onto the balcony from the darkness of the room, her dark eyes fixed on them. "Hmm…those weren't exactly the orders I gave you. But ah well, it doesn't matter anymore." She pulled out the token and started tossing it in the air. "I wasn't able to catch that No-Face, though. Not that I care, now that I finally have the key."

Chihiro let out a small sigh of relief. At least with all the contracts out of her reach it was possible to save everyone.

_Almost_, she corrected herself bitterly when she saw Sei's contract still in her belt.

Haku glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. "What's that, Milady?"

Minori laughed and showed it to him. "A cheap piece of money our dear Yubaba gave to Chihiro-_san _as the key to the gate."

"…That's not the key, Minori-_sama_."

Chihiro felt her heart drop into her stomach. She'd been hoping to keep the charade up a little while longer.

Minori stopped tossing the token abruptly. "What? Of course it is!! Two guardians of a gate must have a key both are familiar—"

"Yubaba didn't make the key for her," interrupted Haku. "Zeniba did."

Chihiro's eyes widened. Zeniba made the key? Then the key was…

Haku answered her assumption. He reached under her head and clasped her special hair tie. He pulled it out and held it up for Minori to see. "_This_ is the key, Minori-_sama_. Zeniba, No-Face, Boh, and Yubaba's bird made it for her before she left. As you might imagine a Spirit World item of such great power being integrated into the Human World makes it very powerful there. This is Chihiro's key."

More tears leaked out of Chihiro's eyes again. No wonder she'd passed into the Spirit World so quickly. As a guardian with her key, she practically opened the door and walked inside!! Oh _why_ didn't she consider her hair tie as an option?!?!

Minori walked over and took the hair tie. She held it up to take a look at it and Chihiro started struggling violently. But Haku's hold was unwavering and her own ribs ached awfully. She was helpless to stop Minori.

Minori threw back her head and laughed loudly. "I must admire you, Chihiro-_san_, for finding a substitute for this key!! Not even I believed this was it at first!!" She stared down at her, grinning evilly. "Thank you, though. But I really must be going. Haku, please kill her for me." Laughing some more, Minori took off inside the bathhouse.

"NO!!!!! Come back here!!!!!!" Chihiro shrieked, struggling to crawl after her. But Haku held firmly onto her.

"It's time you—" he began.

"Unhand her this instant!!"

Both Haku and Chihiro darted their heads up. Her jaw dropped as Shinano landed gracefully on the rail of the balcony. To her greater amazement more and more people lined up on the balcony alongside Shinano, each of the staring down at them.

Haku slowly got off her and crawled back, his eyes never leaving Shinano.

"This is—" began Shinano.

"No time!!!!!" Chihiro shrieked. "Minori has the key!!! Someone please stop her!!!!!"

Shinano nodded and waved his arm. "Squad 2 head for the Human World gate. Stall the demon any way you can until we arrive."

Six of the people jumped off the balcony and transformed into dragons, flying for the front gate as fast as they could.

Shinano looked to the side. "How's the other Haku?"

"He's still unconscious," said a painfully familiar voice behind Chihiro. She whipped her head around to see a disheveled Zeniba cradling the nice Haku in her arms. Tomoko was stroking his hair awkwardly, glancing between the two Haku's in bewilderment.

"Granny!!!" Chihiro sobbed. Despite her injuries she crawled over and crushed Zeniba in a tight hug. "I thought you died!!!"

"Something as simple as a train can't kill me, Chihiro. But I'm still injured and so are you, so please relax a little bit."

"I'm sorry." Chihiro released Zeniba and looked down at Haku. "Is he all right?"

"He should be. He's just exhausted from the battle." Zeniba looked up at her. "Why is your hair down?"

"That hair tie you made me…_that's _the Human World gate key. Somehow Haku knew this and the bad one told her and…"

Zeniba rubbed a hand over her face. "This isn't good at all…"

"How did you get the dragons to come through the gate?"

"Well, I was the hood ornament for that train right up till we reached my swamp. It was then I decided enough was enough. I went over to their world and started making demands. It took me a long while to convince them to get involved—"

"I help too!!" chimed in Tomoko.

"—otherwise we would've arrived sooner. But I did and now our Shinano Nushi is here with many of his family to help Haku."

Chihiro turned back around. Shinano had leapt off the rail and was kneeling in front of the other Haku, who was trembling.

"Do you know who I am?" he asked gently.

"…No," said Haku, though he was growing paler.

"I'm your father, Kohaku. Nigihayami Chikuma Nushi. I'm the longest river in Japan. And I've been searching for you for a long time."

"You lie!!"

"No, I have. I did not expect that you would survive your river being destroyed, but a strong-willed boy such as yourself wouldn't easily be killed like that." Shinano looked about him. "Do you like this world? Do you like being the servant of a demon?"

"Yes!!" snapped Haku, but Chihiro could sense that it was a lie.

"Wouldn't you rather live in my world amongst your family? River or no river, I will make sure no one _ever_ looks down upon you. A river spirit such as yourself who has gone through so much deserves only the highest honor."

"I…I…I don't care!!"

"Ah, but I have a feeling you _do_ care." Shinano glanced over at Chihiro. "Were you the one who did that to her? She's not just some simple human, you know, or even a simple guardian. She's gone to great lengths to try and save you. And you reward her with a vicious beating?"

"Why should I care about her? She stands in Minori-_sama_'s way and I'll kill her!!" he tried to lunge at Chihiro, but Shinano, pinned him to the wall with only a finger.

"You'll do no such thing," he said sternly. "You don't even realize the amount of chaos we're causing by coming into this world to save you, do you? In an already unstable world suddenly a very powerful dragon spirit slips in with twenty of his family? This world could collapse around us!! Do you realize that?"

Haku said nothing.

"Simply put; I will do _anything_ to save you, my son. But I cannot just sit here and talk with you much longer." He reached into his robes and pulled out a round object. Chihiro recognized it as medicine, much like the one the other river spirit gave her. But this medicine looked much darker than the other one.

Shinano broke it in half and tossed one to Chihiro. "Give this to the other half."

Chihiro looked down at it and then back up at him. "Will this really work?"

"It's medicine I myself created. He's not just a divided person; he's a gaping wound thanks to the way Minori pulled him apart. I can't imagine anything else working. Now give it to him!!"

Chihiro turned to Haku. Zeniba was forcing him awake, even though the look on his severely bruised face showed he didn't want to be awake. "Haku!! Eat this!!"

Haku looked over at her hazily. "Chihiro?"

"You'll be back together in no time at all!! Your family's here and I have medicine your father made!! Please eat it!!"

Haku struggled a little and Chihiro noticed for the first time his arms were broken. She leaned over him. "All right, I'll feed it to you!!"

"Just shove it into my mouth," gasped Haku, looking embarrassed for his weakness.

"Okay…open wide!!" Chihiro quickly shoved the medicine half into Haku's mouth, hoping he didn't choke on it. His face was twisted at the bitterness of the medicine, but he forced himself to chew it all and swallow it. No sooner did he swallow it did he give a violent lurch. All the bruises on his face and body disappeared abruptly, but his eyes were very wide. "Are you okay?!"

"I-I don't know," he said slowly. "My body feels…"

"He's ready to remerge," said Zeniba. She looked up. "But it looks like they haven't had much luck."

Chihiro turned around. Shinano was trying to force the medicine into the other Haku's mouth, but without a lot of success. That Haku was fighting tooth and nail to get away, but he wasn't having much luck either.

Tomoko had left their side and rushed to his. "Haku, please just take the medicine!!! We're trying to help you!!"

"Stay away!!" He yelled, trying and failing to crawl away. "I don't need that damn stuff!!"

"Yes, you do," insisted Tone. She grabbed hold of one of his arms. "Minori is just using you like she used this bathhouse!! We're just trying to help you!!!"

"I don't care!!"

"I think you do," said Shinano. He shook his head. "When did you become such a difficult boy?" He waved a hand. "Hold him down."

Several dragons jumped upon Haku including Tomoko, each of them pinning him to the floor so he could barely move. He still tried to, though.

"Haku!!" Chihiro cried. "Please stop fighting!!"

For some reason, Haku did stop fighting, even if only for a moment. That was enough for Shinano to pounce, prying open his mouth and shoving the medicine inside. Several hands gripped his jaw, forcing him to chew the bitter medicine and force him to swallow it. Haku hacked and coughed, but it was too late; the medicine was already at work.

The dragons leapt off him as his body went still. Like the other Haku all his injuries healed and he began to tremble.

Very hesitantly, Zeniba loosened her grip on Haku until her arms dropped to her sides and he was simply sitting in her lap.

Simultaneously, both Hakus' rose into the air, their bodies glowing. Both of them had stunned expressions on their faces, like they couldn't believe what was happening.

Then, quick as lightning, the two flew at each other and met. An even brighter glow emerged from this, nearly blinding Chihiro. But just as quickly, the glow was gone and only one Haku fell to the balcony floor with a loud thump.


	16. Chapter 16

I really have no excuse as to why I kept all of you waiting so long for an update. I only hope you believe me when I say I'm sorry. Because of this wait, I've decided to present to you the final chapters of this story that should've been finished a long time ago. So here you and again I'm sorry for the wait.

Chapter 16

Very hesitantly, Chihiro crawled over to Haku. He was lying motionless on the floor of the balcony. She prayed the merging hadn't killed him.

"Haku?" she couldn't keep her voice steady as she reached out a hand to him. "Haku?"

Haku finally stirred. Chihiro's heart leapt into her throat, but she forced herself to move to his side. His brow knitted together, as though he were in pain.

Then, his eyes opened. They blinked a few times before they settled on Chihiro.

And a smile spread across his face. "Chihiro…" He reached out and touched her cheek. "You did it. You saved me…"

Tears leapt into Chihiro's eyes. She clasped Haku's hand to her face, squeezing his fingers. "Oh Haku…Haku!!!" She threw her arms around him, burying her face into his shoulder. "You're all right!!! You're really all right!!!"

"Yes, I am." He hugged her back. "It's all thanks to you. Thank you so much, Chihiro."

"Haku—"

"As touching as this is," said Yubaba in a rough tone. "We have something far more important to take care."

"Right, Minori!!!" Chihiro let Haku go and jumped to her feet. But just as quickly pain from all her injuries came over her and collapsed. Haku jumped up and caught her, preventing her from hitting the balcony floor.

"You wouldn't happened to have anymore of that medicine, would you?" asked Zeniba, surveying her own injuries.

"Here, you may have mine," said Tone, giving Zeniba a modest-sized ball of medicine. The witch winced a little, but she ate as much as she could.

"You too, Tomoko," said Shinano harshly.

Tomoko sighed heavily, but reached into her pocket. "I was gonna save it for something important…"

"You're saving the life of a Guardian and my dearest friend," said Haku harshly. "I believe that's important enough."

Tomoko looked hurt by Haku's words, but she gave Chihiro the medicine. Chihiro didn't look forward to this at all, but she wolfed down the medicine as best as she could. Even though she felt like throwing up for the first moments, it quickly faded and she felt great.

"Now let's go before she leaves this world!!" yelled Shinano. All the dragons suddenly transformed and were flying through the sky.

"Chihiro, climb onto my back," said Haku, transforming into his dragon form.

"Are you sure you're all right?" asked Chihiro worriedly.

"He'll be fine," snapped Yubaba. "Now hurry up!!!"

The two sisters transformed into birds and suddenly all of them were flying. As the bathhouse wasn't too far from the Gate, it took them no time to reach it.

It was a mess. The dragons Shinano had sent ahead of them were covered in gaping wounds, each one of them struggling to keep fighting. Minori for her part looked completely unscathed, even amused by their attempts.

Everyone landed all around her as quickly as they could. "This is far as you go, you little bitch!!!!" shrieked Yubaba, quickly engaging her in combat.

Minori sighed as though she were bored. "Ah, must we go through this again? I thought I've already proven my power over you." But she began to engage Yubaba. But no one else held back; Zeniba and the dragons literally jumped into the fray, trying to beat and subdue her as best as they could. Only Haku held back, Chihiro still on his back. Both of them watched the fight gravely, staying in front of them like a last line of defense.

"We can do this," said Chihiro confidently. "I know we can!!" Despite her words, her heart was pounding like crazy against the wall of her chest. It was no doubt gonna take a lot to take her down.

This monstrous brawl lasted a good five minutes before Minori let loose a violent burst of energy that sent everyone flying. Only Haku and Chihiro were able to completely avoid the blast; most everyone else landed a good one hundred feet away.

Haku let out a loud growl as he came level with Minori. Chihiro swallowed, trying to remain brave. She was the Guardian of the Human Gate, after all; she _had _to protect it.

"Ah, Haku," said Minori softly, smiling a beautiful smile. "You're whole again. Nothing less from the one who released me into this world. You make your master proud."

Chihiro felt the abrupt shirt and her feet hit the ground hard. Haku had changed back to his human form.

"You're not my master," he said in a cold, angry voice. "Nobody is my master. I've spent most of my life under the thumb of selfish people who want nothing more from me than to use my power. But NO MORE!!!!!!!!" Balls of energy formed in his hands. "You will NOT take one step further!!!!!"

Minori didn't look worried at all. She waved a hand as though she were bored. "This world has done nothing but enslaved you. And the humans; why, _they're _the reason you couldn't go home. If they hadn't dug you up and filled you with cement, you would've remained with your family forever. Why do you insist on protecting such wretched beings now?"

Chihiro glanced at Haku. No matter what she's done, Minori had a point. What _would _Haku gain from this?

But Haku had the answer. "The Human World is Chihiro's world. It is precious to her as the place she lives in. And as long as there is a world where she lives, I will cherish it too!!!!!!!" Haku threw each of the balls at Minori. To Chihiro's joy, they hit her dead on and each blow seemed to cause her a lot of pain. She staggered and coughed up blood, stunned by how much damage his attack caused.

However, she recovered. She laughed a little and wiped the blood from her mouth. "Nothing less from you in your full power, Haku."

Haku stood his ground, powering up once more.

"So I shall give you my greatest reward; my true body."

To both Chihiro and Haku's surprise, Minori began to change. Her chalk white skin darkened until it was the color of burnt flesh. Flesh that became scaly and slimy. Her neck stretched out a good seven feet, her smile grew wide and her teeth razor sharp. She got down on all four and her body mutated into a giant lizard/dog creature. Only her eyes, eyes had scared Chihiro when they'd first met, remained the same, staring a them from her hideous face.

_I can see why she adopts such a disguise,_ thought Chihiro, her stomach turning at the sight.

But she had no more time to think of anything else. Minori let loose a violent roar and charged at them. Haku changed back into a dragon and the two of them took off into the air to avoid the attack. But then Minori's back began to bubble like boiling water and boney wings burst from her back. She took off into the air after them and the two started grappling in the air.

Chihiro screamed, struggling to hang on as Haku was wrung from side to side. Minori must've been trying to shake her off. But Haku remained as steady as he could, tearing at her head and shoulders with his jaws to stop her.

When Minori realized she wouldn't be able to shake Chihiro off Haku easily, she switched tactics. With a loud roar she slammed into him again, driving them towards the ground, his back pointing to the ground. _Chihiro_ pointing to the ground.

She wanted to crush Chihiro with both of their bodies.

Then more bodies flew into the air and stopped their descent. Chihiro finally lost her grip on Haku's horns, but Yubaba quickly caught her as the fight continued. Yubaba flew towards the ground and deposited Chihiro on top of the steps.

"Stay here and watch your Gate," she hissed, taking back off into the air.

Chihiro didn't know what to do; Minori still had the key and was clearly winning. She wrung her hands helplessly as the fight continued above her head. More dragons joined the fight against Minori, but Chihiro didn't feel any hope from this. She knew that the worst was yet to come.

She hated to be right. Minori let loose another blast of energy that sent everyone flying against. Then her eyes found Chihiro and her lips curled back as though she was smiling.

Chihiro was afraid the demon would attack her from the air. But Minori seemed confident with his abilities. She flew over to Chihiro, yes, but she landed on the ground a good ten feet away with a confidence that scared Chihiro deeply.

"_So,"_ said Minori in a guttural voice. Chihiro was shocked she could speak. _"You're my last line of defense?"_

Chihiro squared her shoulders and held her head high. "As Guardian of the Human World Gate, I DO NOT give you permission to pass!!!!!!"

Minori let out a roaring laugh, a long purple tongue hanging out of her mouth. She hissed at Chihiro and took a few steps towards her.

"_And what will YOU do, human?"_ she sneered. _"How can YOU stop me?! None of these spirits can stop me!!! You are helpless without your friends!!! You have some power with your key, but I have it too!!!"_ Minori grunted, shaking her head. _"It is a sad day indeed, when a demon like me is bored with the Demon World."_

Chihiro stilled, looking at her in shock. "Bored?"

"_Yes, boredom. There's only so much chaos and torture I can STAND before I get bored. So…I thought to cross worlds and bring a little chaos to them."_

"Because you were bored." Chihiro still couldn't believe it. "You've done all this, you kidnapped my brother, you tore Haku's soul apart, and you wanna enter my world because you're BORED?!?!?!"

Minori snorted. _"Is that so surprising, Chihiro-_san_? Besides, I thought the Human World was a good choice. You humans are very capable of evil and seemingly incapable of selflessness. I thought I was doing you a favor with my chaos."_

Chihiro was overcome with anger, but she stood her ground. "I won't let you pass!!!!!!"

"_Hmm. Then I'll have to force my way through."_

Before Minori could act however, another body slammed into her. It was Zeniba and the two began grappling all over the place. Minori struck Zeniba hard, sending her flying until she landed on the ground hard just inches from Chihiro. But she was quickly on her feet again and back in the fight.

Something caught Chihiro's eye. It was in the crater caused by Zeniba's landing. She knelt down and picked it up. After a few moments she recognized it.

A gold seal. Zeniba's monogram seal.

"_Only love can break its spell." _

Would a demon know pure love? But that question didn't matter; nobody in this world loved Minori, not in a pure way at least. If Minori took this…

Chihiro ran forward as fast as she could. "Granny, get out of my way!!!"

"Chi—" before Zeniba could finish, Minori knocked her aside.

"_Come here, little human,"_ taunted Minori, flashing her sharp teeth. _"I'd love to devour your flesh."_

"I'll give you something else to eat!!!!" shrieked Chihiro, poising the seal.

"No, not my seal!!!!" cried Zeniba.

"_Seal?"_ asked Minori. _"No matter."_ She met Chihiro and tackled the poor girl. But Chihiro was ready. As Minori opened her jaws over her, Chihiro grabbed hold of her tongue and pulled it as hard as she could. Minori's mouth opened instinctively and Chihiro shoved the monogram seal down her throat as far as it would go.

Minori made a hideous choking sound and tried to back up. But Chihiro wouldn't let go of her tongue, tugging on it harder to make her swallow the seal. As she did this, she saw a strange sight. When she'd seen Sei's contract in Minori's human form, it'd been tucked in her sash. But now she saw it plain as day sticking out of a hole in her side that looked natural. And the key—her hair tie—was tied around the contract.

Without hesitation, Chihiro grabbed the contract free and finally let Minori go.

Minori staggered back, making pitiful wheezing noises. Then she started coughing up black, tarry stuff that must've been her blood.

"Give me back my seal!!!!!" shrieked Zeniba, wrapping her arms around Minori's neck.

"Yes, give up the seal!!!!" snapped Yubaba, assisting her sister in choking the demon.

Chihiro felt a presence beside her. "Properly seal her NOW!!!!!!!!" snapped Haku.

"If we do that, I'll never get my seal back!!!!" wailed Zeniba.

"Then it'll take her a damn long time to die and she'll probably take all of us with her!!!!" snapped Haku. "Please seal her away!!!!"

Both sisters sighed heavily, but clasped their hands together. The others began to gather around as the sisters began chanting loudly and rapidly, light forming between their hands. Minori struggled between them, her hideous face twisted as though she couldn't believe the circumstances. She let out one final scream…

And light exploded from them. Chihiro covered her eyes with her hands from the bright light.

Then there was a hushed silence. Very slowly, Chihiro put her arms down. The two sisters were they only ones who stood there, each looking exhausted. Haku put an arm around Chihiro's shoulders as the two inched forward to see what happened. Then Chihiro saw it. Where Minori had stood now sat a tiny black box with a hideous seal on it. It shook ever so slightly for a few moments and then finally stilled.

Chihiro let out the breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. "So it's over now?"

"My seal is gone forever, but yes it's over," said Zeniba.

"YEEEEEEAAAAAHHH!!!!!!" screamed Haku. He threw his arms around Chihiro, hugging her tightly. "You did it, Chihiro!!!! We won!!!! We WON!!!!!!"

Cheers erupted from all around them. Chihiro started crying and she hugged Haku back, unable to believe it was all over.

It was then she realized she still held Sei's contract. She pulled away from Haku slightly and looked at it. She pulled off her hair tie and opened it up. Yes, there it was, with Sei's signature.

"You finally got it back," said Haku breathlessly. "Would you do the honors?"

"With pleasure," said Chihiro happily. She folded the contract in half and started tearing it into millions of tiny little pieces. A tiny fire suddenly sprung up from the ground in front of her and the little particles fell into it, each one catching flame. "There." Chihiro let out another sigh and tied her hair back with her hair tie. "Everything's fine now."


	17. Chapter 17

And here is the final chapter. Once again, thank you for sticking with me for so long and I hope you enjoy this.

Chapter 17

Chihiro was in a state of disbelief. She couldn't believe that it was all over. It was almost too good to be true.

They all returned to the bathhouse, exhausted and sore but victorious and feeling good. Haku had not let go of her hand and she wasn't complaining.

When they got inside they were met with cheers from all the coworkers and any of the good guests that had stayed. Chihiro saw Sei in the crowd and broke free from Haku to run to her brother.

"Chihiro!!!" he cried, running to her with open arms. They met each other quickly, holding each for dear life. "Is it okay? Is everything okay now?"

"Yes, yes!!!!" cried Chihiro, clinging to him for dear life. "Everything's okay now!!"

Everyone was cheering and crying, hugging and smacking each other on the back. No-Face appeared from thin air, his arms full of the contracts.

"Sen!!!!" cried Rin. She ran over and hugged Chihiro tightly. "Oh, thank you so much Sen!!!!!"

"You're welcome, Morinji," laughed Chihiro.

"Wonderful job, Sen," said Kamaji as he crawled over to them. "I never doubted you for a second."

"Now then!!!" announced Yubaba, clapping her hands together. "I'm back and things are going to return to the way they once were!!!!!"

If Yubaba expected her employees to be grateful, she was in for a surprise. Every one of them glowered at her.

"Hey now!!!!" she snapped. "Need I remind you that I just saved you all?!?! And if it hadn't been for YOUR selfishness, then NONE of this would've happened!!!!!"

"We remember our names!!!" yelled someone. Yubaba began to pale.

"I want proper wages!!!" yelled another.

"I'm no slave!!!!!"

"Listen to my name!!! Hakan!!"

"Naotatsu!!"

"Yukami!!"

"Shinshuu!!"

"Let's not forget that No-Face has your contracts," added Zeniba smugly. "And he's MY helper, not yours sister."

"ALL RIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!" yelled Yubaba. Silence swept the bathhouse. "You ungrateful scum!!!!! If you want free of me, then step up!!!! We'll do those damned negotiations NOW and I don't EVER wanna hear another complaint from you all AGAIN, GOT IT?!?!"

Once again everyone was cheering and everyone surged forward to re-negoitiate their contracts.

"Be right back," said Rin cheerfully, running to join the others.

"Aren't you gonna join them, Kamaji?" asked Chihiro.

Kamaji shrugged. "I never made a contract with Minori. Besides, what use else do I have in this world other than in a boiler room?"

"…This is the weirdest video game I've ever played," said Sei.

--

"You're leaving?!" cried Chihiro. She'd been surprised when Rin had pulled her aside and upstairs to her room. And Rin's sudden proclamation took her off guard.

"Yeah," said Rin over her shoulder. "Yubaba offered me a raise if I stayed, but I decided to end my contract and collect my wages. I told you, remember? That I wanted to ride the train elsewhere to some town, right? Well, no time like the present."

"But…" Chihiro was at a loss for words. "But must you leave now?"

"If I stay, I might change my mind." Rin shoved her belongings into a small carrying bag. "And if I stay, Yubaba might scam me into another contract."

"But…we're having a party now!! And don't you wanna say goodbye to everyone?"

Rin simply shrugged. "I've been saying my goodbyes to the girls for years. They already know I'm leaving; some of them will be coming with me." She finished her packing and checked her inventory. "I think…yeah, I'm good." She got to her feet. "All right, I'm ready to go."

"But so soon?" Chihiro didn't want her to go. She knew this is what Rin had always wanted, but the thought of saying goodbye to her was incredibly painful.

"The train will be here soon. If I don't hurry it'll leave without me." Rin grabbed hold of her hand. "C'mon Sen, come see me off."

Chihiro wanted to protest more, but Rin gave her no time to argue. Soon they were rushing through the bathhouse. Other workers yelled out goodbyes to Rin and well-wishes. Rin was right; they were all prepared for this too.

Then they were outside. It was nighttime and the area was still mangled from the day's attack, but neither girl gave it much thought. They heard the whistle of the train.

"Hold the train!!!!" Rin yelled to the others girls on the platform; Chihiro counted four others she'd worked with years ago. They had to run to make it to the platform as the train pulled up. The girls obliged Rin and stalled with the conductor, shamelessly flirting with the transparent ghost.

Both Rin and Chihiro stopped to catch their breath, but not for long. Rin stood up straight and grinned brightly. "Well, this is it."

Chihiro straightened, tears springing to her eyes. "Rin…"

Rin pulled her into a hug. "I owe you big, Sen. This wouldn't have happened without you. You're the greatest friend I've ever had." Her voice was breaking and Chihiro could feel her tears soaking into her hair. Chihiro choked and hugged her friend tight.

"Hurry up, Rin!!!" called one of the girls.

Rin quickly let her go. "Well…see you around."

"Yeah," said Chihiro. "I hope…I hope you're happy."

"I am. I hope you're happy too." Rin gave her cheeks a pinch and hurried onto the train. She happily gave her ticket to the conductor and joined the other women. The train soon started up and went off.

Rin opened a window and stuck her head out. "Goodbye Sen!!! I'll never forget you!!!!"

"G-Goodbye, Rin!!! _Morinji_!!!!" called Chihiro, waving wildly to her. She stood there on the platform until the train completely disappeared from sight. She knew she would miss Rin, but she also knew nothing made Rin happier than finally getting away.

--

When Chihiro returned to the bathhouse, she went in search of Sei. But before she found him, she stumbled upon Shinano and Haku, who were talking to each other privately. She stood off to the side, out of sight but not out of earshot. She knew it was rude, but she wanted to hear what they were saying.

"My son," said Shinano proudly, putting a hand on Haku's shoulder. "I want you to return to our world with us."

"Really?" said Haku. "But I'm not a real river spirit anymore. I don't have any rivers."

"That doesn't matter to me or our family. You're alive and that's what matters. Your coming home won't disrupt anything of our world just the same as it didn't disrupt this world, since you _are _a dragon and of a river."

"But my river—"

"Everything will be fine, I promise. Now, will you come home with us?"

Haku took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Chihiro knew how much this meant to him, but hard it was as well.

Then Haku spoke. "Yes. I've always wanted to go home."

--

The celebration continued for a few days, complete with free food and sake. Chihiro was pleased to see that Sei was enjoying every minute; he didn't seem homesick at all. And Chihiro herself wasn't exactly in a hurry.

But…but she knew they couldn't stay. She knew they would have to return home soon. But she hoped with all her heart that she could return and see everyone again.

Then it happened. Just as dawn broke one morning, Shinano addressed everyone.

"I believe," he started. "That we dragons have overstayed our welcome."

"Nonsense, you're more than welcome here!!" said Yubaba. "Especially since you've paid for your free drinks!!!"

Shinano shook his head. "I don't think we should stay a day more, lest we cause this realm more chaos. We should return to our world as soon as we can."

This was met with silence. Chihiro felt her chest tighten at these words. When the dragons left, they would take Haku with them.

Finally, Zeniba spoke, "You're right, you should return. But we're very appreciative of what you've done for us."

"I understand," said Shinano.

"And…" Zeniba turned to look at Chihiro. "You need to return home too, Chihiro."

Chihiro swallowed a lump in her throat, but she forced a smile. "All right. But I can come see you again sometime, right?"

But Zeniba and Yubaba shook their heads and Chihiro went cold.

"Sen, this isn't your natural world," said Yubaba. "You belong in the Human World, not the Spirit World. Your being here disrupts the balance."

"But…but I'm a Guardian!!"

"Nevertheless, you still don't belong here just the same as I don't belong in _your_ world."

"Remember what I told you?" asked Zeniba gently. "Being a Guardian doesn't give you special privilege. I can't travel freely between this world and their world because of my status."

Chihiro looked down at Sei, who was curled up at her side fast asleep. "You mean…when I leave I can't ever come back?"

"Not until you become a spirit yourself," said Yubaba.

"Oh…" Chihiro knew she should've thought about this. Didn't they already warn her? But it didn't make the pain any less. There was so much she could've done with her time here. She could've said goodbye to Rin a lot better, for one thing…

She looked up at everyone around her. Her spirit friends looked back her, all of them looking sad. Even though they knew better than her, it still hurt them too.

She closed her eyes to block her tears and took a deep breath. "I understand. We'll leave today as well."

"Don't go so soon!!!" wailed Boh, starting to cry.

"No, I don't wanna cause anymore problems here. Besides, my parents are probably home and worried sick about us." That was only half of it, though. Haku was leaving that day and she didn't know if she could stay much longer if he wasn't there.

"So when will you leave?" asked Zeniba.

Chihiro looked down at herself and looked over Sei. They both still had the clothes on their backs from days before. "I think we'll leave right now, while Sei's asleep. With any luck he'll wake up on the other side and think this was all a bad dream."

"Yes," said Zeniba softly. She went over to Chihiro and gave her a big hug. "You're a wonderful girl Chihiro and we'll miss you greatly. But know we will always be there with you, as you'll surely be here with us."

Chihiro nodded and hugged her back. "Thank you for everything, Granny."

Boh was next for a hug, swooping down picking her up into his arms. "I'm gonna miss you so much, Sen!!!!" He was crying hysterically, large teardrops soaking Chihiro. She was afraid she'd start crying from all this, but she somehow remain composed.

No-Face was next, materializing behind Boh. He didn't seem to know how to hug, but Chihiro wrapped her arms around his shadowy body anymore. He made awkward grunting noises and slowly embraced her back.

When she let him go she was pulled into another hug, this time by Kamaji. Hugging him was like hugging a spider, but she didn't let it get to her. "You take care of yourself, Sen."

"You too, Kamaji."

Everyone came around to hug her and say goodbye to her, except for some of the dragons. Chihiro noticed Haku was hanging back as well.

"Well…" Tomoko stepped forward reluctantly. "You saved my brother, so I guess I'm grateful to you."

"You guess?" asked Chihiro warily.

Tomoko sighed heavily and hugged her loosely. "Thank you for saving Kohaku, Guardian Chihiro.

"You're welcome." Chihiro patted her on the back and gave her a smile.

As she went back to collect Sei, she knew someone notable had not approached her. She was about to pick up Sei when two cards were shoved into her hands.

"Free passes," said Yubaba. "For your brother and you. When you become spirits, spend a night here on the house."

Chihiro smiled warmly and took the passes from her. "Thank you, Granny." The passes dissolved in her hands, but she knew they wouldn't do her any good at the present.

Yubaba sighed heavily and pulled her into a quick hug. "I _do_ owe you for saving my bathhouse, even after everything that's happened between us. I'm grateful and I thank you for your hard work."

Chihiro really did feel like crying then. But she held in her tears and smiled at Yubaba. "Thank you for everything, Granny."

Yubaba's face twisted up in thought. "I think you said that before."

It was the final goodbyes. Chihiro took Sei into her arms and headed for the front doors, everyone shouting goodbyes and well-wishes to her. Her chest felt so tight that it was getting harder to breath.

Someone fell into step beside her. "I'll say goodbye to you at the Gate."

Haku. Chihiro only glanced at him and didn't say a word. She wanted to say many things as they left the bathhouse, especially since this would be their final goodbye. But nothing came out. And they walked in silence through the town, gradually rebuilding itself, and towards the steps.

They reached the steps and she saw the green plains she'd crossed as a child. This would be the last time she crossed them.

"Here you are," said Haku very quietly. "I don't think I need to warn you this time."

"_But you have to promise you won't look back, not until you reach the end of the tunnel."_

Chihiro clung to her sleeping brother, wanting to stall the moment anyway she can. "…You kept your promise, Haku."

"My promise?"

"That we would meet again."

"_Will we meet again sometime?"_

"_Sure we will."_

"_You promise?"_

"_Promise."_

Understanding cross Haku's face, but he looked incredibly sad. Chihiro looked back towards the plains, unable to look at him anymore. "Only now…we won't be able to meet again." The words choked in her throat.

Haku said nothing. Very gently, he took Sei from her arms and set him down on the steps. Then he pulled her close, kissing her on the lips.

Chihiro clung to him, unable to stop her tears, sobbing through the kiss. After a few moments they broke apart and just hugged each other.

"I-I wish…I wish…" she couldn't put it into words, but she knew deep down that she didn't want this. She didn't want this to be their final goodbye. But neither of them had a choice.

"I know, Chihiro," said Haku, his voice hoarse. "I feel the same way." He hugged her a little tighter. "I love you."

"_You're my greatest, truest friend, Chihiro, and I love you."_

Chihiro had to speak because she knew she would never get this chance again. "I-I love you too, Haku."

They stood there for a few more minutes, holding each other and pouring out their pain. Neither of them wanted to let the other go, but they knew they didn't have much longer.

Finally, they let each other go. Chihiro scrubbed at her face with the sleeve of her sweater and went to pick up Sei. She turned to face Haku, though more tears came out of her eyes. "I'm glad I met you, Haku. And I hope—I _really_ hope that you'll be happy now."

"Thank you, Chihiro," said Haku, smiling at her. "And I hope you'll be happy too."

Chihiro didn't know then if she'd ever be happy again, but she nodded and smiled at him. Then she turned and started down the steps. She reached the grass and started walking across the plain. The temptation to turn around and look at him one last time was strong. She forced herself to close her eyes as she walked, choking quietly on sobs as she held Sei.

She crossed the plains and reached the tunnels. The wind swept past her as she went inside, but still she did not turn around. She entered the main area of the station. It had been swamped with spirits the last time she went through here, but now it was empty. And still she did not turn around.

She walked down the final tunnel, unable to keep in her tears, her sniffles and soft sobs echoing the tunnel. But still she did not turn around.

And finally, she was on the other side. She saw the two-faced statue covered in moss.

And then she finally turned around. The place looked as it did the last time she left, covered in vines and moss and looking unkempt. The Gate was no doubt closed. She wanted to run back inside, but she stood her ground.

"Bye," she said softly, turning back around.

It took her a while to get home through the woods. Her heart was heavy, but she had enough sense of mind to worry about her parents. She'd left a horrible mess when she ran off to save Sei. If they'd arrived home before her, what would they make of the mess?

Sei started stirring as she left the woods and climbed up the hill towards their house. His eyes opened fully as she reached their back fence. She half-expected to see their glass door in ruins, but it looked…fine. "…Where are we?"

"Home now," said Chihiro, smiling down at him.

"Chihiro!!" came a familiar cry from inside the house.

Sei's whole face lit up. "Mommy!!!" he jumped out of Chihiro's arms and climbed over the fence. "Mommy!!! Mommy!!!!"

Chihiro laughed a little as she climbed the fence and followed Sei into the house.

"Oh, where have you two been?!" demanded their mother, though she hugged Sei tightly. "We just got in and the house is empty!!!"

The house looked completely undamaged as well, as though the attack by Haku had never happened. Chihiro rubbed her forehead with the back of her hand. "I went to take Sei out for ice cream."

"At nine in the morning?!" asked their father, laughing a little. "I'd like to meet this ice cream maker!!"

"It was so cool!!!" gushed Sei. "We were inside this video game world and there were dragons and old ladies and this guy with ten arms—"

Their mother laughed and ruffled Sei's hair. "I think you've been playing your Gameboy too much." She glanced up at Chihiro. "Has he given you much trouble."

"Not at all," said Chihiro. She stretched out her arms. "I'm gonna go take a nap."

"But Chihiro—"

Chihiro didn't wait for her to finish. She ran upstairs and into her room. She took off her sweater and hung it up in her closet. Then she walked over to her bed and fell flat on it.

It felt wonderful to be home, to be laying in her own bed without having to look over her shoulder for a demon. But things weren't so simple for her anymore. She was a Guardian of that Gate, but she couldn't pass through it again.

"I miss you already," she murmured softly, burying her face into her pillow.

--

But life went on for Chihiro. She finished her summer homework and returned to school for the fall. Her friends were interested to know where she'd been for two weeks, since she hadn't answer their calls or their text messages.

"My parents decided to invite me along with them," she lied smoothly.

"Ah, so THAT'S why you're so miserable!!"

"Yes, that's exactly it." She buried her face into her arms.

Sei was having a much better time than her about the whole thing. He couldn't stop talking about his captivity to their parents or his friends. Though his friends were interested at first, they quickly grew tired of him talking about it every single day. As Chihiro predicted, nobody believed any of his stories, except probably some of his friends.

Even if she was Guardian of the Gate, she still wanted to make sure. So she dug up her parent's lease and read it through. What she saw gave her a shock.

_Her _name was on it. Signed on every line as the owner of the house. She rubbed at it with her thumb as though that would make it go away. It didn't, of course. Then she got some white-out to see if that would get rid of it. But the paper completely absorbed the white-out into itself and her name stayed intact.

So her name was on the lease. That meant the house was hers. Wouldn't her dad be so _thrilled_ about this? She decided to leave the issue for another time and reburied it amongst her father's papers.

Chihiro tried to keep herself occupied in that first month. But it was so difficult for her. She couldn't be happier to be home, but the spirits were her friends. And unlike before, when she'd been ten, she didn't have the reassurance that she could see them again.

They were _gone_.

One day, she couldn't take it anymore. She couldn't focus on her English homework. She pushed aside the worksheets and walked to her closet. She pulled out her sweater and put it on, hugging it tightly to her. Her other clothes from that adventure had already been washed except for her sweater. And hugging it made her think that she was still there, amongst her friends…

Something hard brushed against her leg. Startled, she looked down to see her pocket bulged out. She'd taken her wallet out already. Then what…

She reached inside and pulled out a small jar. It was a quarter full of water. Why was there a jar full of water in her pocket? She didn't remember taking water home with her.

"_Perhaps these will be very helpful to us."_

Her heart stopped. This wasn't water; this was supposed to be Haku's scales. Zeniba had put them in a jar for her, but they'd all forgotten about them. This little bit of water was Haku!!

Excited, she swished the water in the jar a little bit, unable to believe what she was seeing. Haku was still there with her, even if it was just in a little jar.

She froze. Something seemed very odd about it. She stopped swishing the jar. The water had played near the bottle when she'd pulled it out, but now it looked…fuller. She shook up the bottle and held it up. Now it looked half-full. She shook it up as hard as she could and then checked it. Now it was completely full.

Was it…regenerating itself?

She went to her desk where an empty glass sat. She opened the jar and poured the contents inside. It came up short in the tall glass. She took one of her pens and started stirring the cup. Before her eyes the volume of the water increased drastically in the cup, rising higher and higher until the water was just short of the brim.

_Rivers never end because there's moving water in them. And if the water keeps moving…_

She ran from her room. "Dad!!!!!!"

Epilogue

"Okay, it's ready!!" called her father from outside.

"C'mon, let's go!!" cried Chihiro. She threw on her coat and ran outside.

"You're so strange, Chihiro," said her mother, shaking her head. "Out of all the things you could've asked us for Christmas…"

"This was the only thing I wanted," said Chihiro over her shoulder. She plopped into the snow and ran towards her father, who was standing in from of something covered in a black tarp.

"What a weirdo," said Sei, not even looking up from his new PSP.

"Everything's all set," said her father proudly, wiping at his forehead. "You sure know how to drive your father crazy, Chihiro."

"Just start it up!!!" pleaded Chihiro.

"All right. Ladies and gentleman!!! I give you…Chihiro's fountain!!!!"

Her father pulled the tarp off. A huge pond six feet long sat there full of water. At the head was a makeshift waterfall. Her father turned to her. "Why don't you do the honors?"

Chihiro nodded and reached down to pressed the button. A loud gushing sound greeted them as the waterfall began to spew water. In reality, water was being sucked up a channel to make it seem like it was falling off the waterfall. But Chihiro couldn't ask for anything more.

"Hooray!!" cheered her mother, clapping for her.

"It looks cool!!" said Sei, finally looking up.

"You had some odd requests, though," said her father. "Like using a specific type of water. It's just a pond, after all."

"But it's my pond," said Chihiro, smiling broadly. "I think I'll call it 'Kohaku Nushi'!!!"

Her mother stilled and looked at her in shock. "Why would you call it that?"

"I think it's appropriate!!!"

"Chihiro…you may not remember but you almost drowned in a river called Kohaku."

Chihiro shrugged. "I'm all right now, aren't I?"

"But—"

"Aw, leave it alone," said her father. "Besides, with this done now the rest of us can get ready!!"

Chihiro looked down into the water. Even though it was nighttime, the full moon was out and she…she thought she saw the glimmer of a tail in the water.

She felt a tug on her arm. "C'mon Chihiro, we need to go to the shrine."

"I think I'll stay home Mom and enjoy my pond."

"You wanna ring in the New Year alone?" her mother's eyes darkened. "You don't plan on throwing a party while we're gone, do you?"

"No, no!!!" Chihiro held up her hands. "I just wanna enjoy my gift!!!"

"Just leave her," said Sei from his PSP. "It'll be more fun without her."

Chihiro narrowed her eyes at Sei. So soon he forgets the trouble she went through to save him. But she tried not to let it get to her. "You guys go on ahead. Seriously, I'll be all right."

They all went back inside. Chihiro watched her family bundle up and she kissed them all goodbye. She stood there in the kitchen for a few moments until she heard their car leave the driveway. Then she pulled out two mugs and started preparing for hot chocolate.

Minutes later she was walking back outside with two steaming mugs and a small lawn chair tucked under her arm so she wouldn't have to kneel in the snow. She got herself ready and settled down. She set the extra cup down right next to the pond, silently praying none of this effort was going to go to waste.

"I hope you like it, Haku," she said softly, taking a sip of her cocoa.

She was startled when a transparent hand came up from the pond and cupped her face. She was even more startled when a transparent Haku came up partially and kissed her on the lips.

"_I love it, Chihiro,"_ he said warmly, smiling at her. _"You've restored my body."_

Chihiro stared at him stunned. "I-I can't believe it really worked!!"

Haku laughed and took a seat on the edge of the pond next to the cup, the other half of his body submerged in the water. _"Of course it did. It was a brilliant idea. I may be a spirit, but I use to have a physical form here. When you took my scales, a part of my physical being back home with you, it became its natural form of water here. And since I'm a river spirit, with water constantly flowing through it…well, you helped to regenerate my body and now I live here, in your pond."_

"I-I hope it's not too small," said Chihiro fearfully. "Your original river was much bigger."

"_Why should I complain? Now I have a real place in my father's world. Besides…" _he turned to smile at her. _"Now we can see each other whenever we like."_

"Yeah," said Chihiro, smiling at him. "That's right."

They both sat there and talked for a long time. Even though neither of them had gone back to the Spirit World where their friends were, Haku had some news about them. Everyone was doing much better and Yubaba's business had picked up greatly, thanks to tales of vanquishing a demon from there.

And Minori…as far as he knew she was still imprisoned. If the monogram seal didn't kill her, then there was still the box to contend with. She couldn't possibly get out.

Chihiro felt so much better than she had in a long time. She'd missed each of her friends, but not so much as she missed Haku. And now he was here. She gave him back his physical body and so now he could exist within her world, on her house's property. With the waterfall fountain flowing, it stimulated the rush of a river. And even if it ever stopped, Haku's water existed there as his body. No one would dare destroy it, not if she could help it.

And it was her house. Someday she knew her parents would want to move elsewhere, but she would stay. She had her responsibilities as a Guardian to take care of. And she couldn't think of anything that would make her happier more than being by Haku's side. So long as she lived there, they would be together.

They talked for so long and so deeply that they didn't notice the uproar from the town. Only when the town's clock sounded and deafening cheers echoed around them did they realize what was going on.

"Happy New Year, Nigihayami Kohaku Nushi," said Chihiro, raising her cup to him.

"_Happy New Year, Chihiro Ogino,"_ said Haku. _"And many more."_

Yes, everything would be all right.

--

This is the end. Thank you all for sticking with me for so long. I truly appreciate it.


End file.
